Nancy Run Fire Company covers a population of 28,000 residents in 40 square miles with 30 active volunteer firefighters responding out of one station, and its district includes a lot of mileage along the Interstate 78 and State Route 22 highways, making the potential, and actuality, of a lot of motor vehicle accidents (MVA) that the department has to handle.
Nolan Rampulla, Nancy Run’s chief, notes that the department reviewed the fire apparatus it had in its fleet and came to the conclusion that it needed to purchase a new pumper that had adequate storage for the department’s rescue equipment, yet still be able to allow firefighters to fight fires well as a first attack rig. “Besides wanting a lot of space to carry all our rescue equipment, we also wanted a moderately low hose bed so our firefighters would have an easier time either pulling or reloading hose,” Rampulla says.
Robert Ross, salesman for 10-8 Emergency Vehicles, who sold the rescue-pumper to Nancy Run, says that the department looked at several vendors, and had knowledge of Seagrave pumpers because of their visits to the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), and the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department. “They told us they were impressed with the strength and safety of the Seagrave’s cab, and the durability of the entire rig. Ross says that Nancy Run purchased a Seagrave pumper on a Marauder stainless steel tilting cab and chassis, powered by a Cummins 500-horsepower (hp) X12 diesel engine, and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission.
Todd Fell, regional sales manager for Seagrave, says the Marauder’s cab has a 10” raised roof and seats six firefighters, five in H.O. Bostrom self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) seats. Fell adds that the rescue-pumper has a Waterous CMU 1,500-gallon-per-minute (gpm) two-stage pump, and a 500-gallon polypropylene water tank. Wheelbase is 207 inches, overall length is 31 feet 11 inches, and overall height is 9 feet 10-3/4-inches.
Above the pump panel are two 1-3/4-inch hose cross lays, and one dead lay, Fell says, while there are 6-inch master intakes on the left and right sides, and a left side 2-1/2-inch auxiliary intake. There’s a 2-1/2-inch discharge in the 24-inch extended front bumper, which also has a 5-inch intake and trough for 5-inch hose, two left side 2-1/2-inch discharges, one right side 2-1/2-inch and one 4-inch discharge, two rear 2-1/2-inch discharges, a Task Force Tips Crossfire deck gun on a 12-inch riser, and an electric rewind Hannay booster reel on the officer’s side with 200-feet of one inch booster hose.
Rampulla points out that the rescue-pumper’s hose bed holds 1,000 feet of 5-inch large diameter hose (LDH), 200 feet of 1-3/4-inch hose, 400 feet of 2-1/2-inch hose, and 400 feet of 3-inch hose. He notes that beside the front discharge and intake, the front bumper has a winch receiver for a Warn Zeon 10,000-pound winch, and that there are winch receiver tubes on each side of the rig. “This vehicle is first due on all MVAs, rescues, and hazardous materials incidents,” he says, “so it carries battery-powered Amkus Rescue Systems rescue tools in the R3 compartment on a Zico Lazy-Susan setup on a pull-out tray, a variety of other rescue tools, and also hazardous material containment equipment.”
Fell says the Seagrave rescue-pumper is outfitted with Onspot automatic snow chains, a Harrison 6-kilowatt hydraulic generator, one electric cord reel, and a Roscoe backup camera. For lighting, the rig has a Whelen 72-inch LED traffic emitter light bar at the front of the cab, Whelen Freedom LED mini light bars on the side, Whelen M series perimeter lights, a Whelen Traffic Advisor at the rear of the rig, a Mars RotoRay light at the front, Hi Viz LED brow lights, Hi Viz LED lights at the sides of the cab, and Hi Viz Guardian LED scene lights on the sides and rear of the body.
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.
