The Baltimore County (MD) Fire Department is in the process of taking delivery of 16 engines and three tractor-drawn aerials (TDAs) from Pierce Manufacturing Inc.
Bob Rosensteel, regional account manager for Atlantic Emergency Solutions, who sold the apparatus to Baltimore County, says the TDAs are 100-foot Ascendant models built on Arrow XT chassis and cabs with seating for six firefighters with front and side airbag protection. He notes the TDAs are powered by Cummins 600-horsepower (hp) X15 diesel engines, and Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmissions, have heating and air conditioning in the tiller cabs, 10-kW Onan hydraulic generators, and HiViz LED compartment, scene, and perimeter lighting.
Mike Huber, Baltimore County’s fire maintenance fleet manager, points out that the department wanted all around airbags inside the cabs for all its rigs. “Also, with our current fleet, we had some difficulty getting down some tight streets,” Huber says, “so we went with the Enforcer chassis and cab for the engines so they’d be short and maneuverable in tight spaces. We went from pumpers that were 100 inches wide down to 96 inches wide, and also trimmed the wheelbase down to 187-1/2-inches.”
Huber notes that the department was also concerned about meeting a clean cab standard, and while all seating, except drivers, are self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) USSC Valor seats, the cabs meet the standard by having wipeable vinyl and other surfaces, cleanable diamond plate, HEPA filters, and a decon shower and garden hose fitting on the right side pump panel.
Rosensteel says the 16 pumpers are on Enforcer chassis and cabs with side and front airbag protection and seating for five firefighters, three in crew cab forward-facing seats, with inside- and outside-accessible EMS cabinets taking the place of rear-facing seating. “The pumpers have stainless steel bodies and are powered by 500-hp Cummins X12 diesel engines, and Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmissions,” he points out, “and have Darley 1,500-gallons-per-minute (gpm) LDMX pumps, and 750-gallon water tanks.”
The pumpers each have a front intake on the right side of the pumper with 25 feet of 5-inch LDH (large diameter hose) connected, along with 150 feet of 1-3/4-inch hose line in a covered well. The rigs also have two 1-3/4-inch crosslays, along with two beds of 500 feet of 1-3/4-inch hose in the hose bed. Each hose bed also carries 500 feet of 3-inch hose, 1,000 feet of 4-inch hose, and 500 feet of 2-1/2-inch hose, Rosensteel says.
“Each pumper has an Akron Brass 3423 monitor and stacked tips with a Task Force Tips Extend-A-Gun, troughs on each side of the pump module designed to hold 30 feet of 5-inch LDH, SCBA bottle storage compartments in the wheel wells, and all HiViz LED scene and perimeter lighting, including arrow sticks on three sides of the pumpers, as well as on the TDAs.
Rich Holzman, regional vice president for Pierce, says Pierce already delivered three air units to Baltimore County, and currently has a fourth on order.
Huber notes that the department recently ordered an additional six Pierce engines, and another Ascendant TDA, built to the same specs as the previous apparatus.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Ariz.-based journalist, the author of three novels and five non-fiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment editorial advisory board. He served 22 years with Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including the position of chief.
