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| Pierce Manufacturing’s first PUC pumper-tanker was built for the Winfield (Ill.) Fire Protection District. (Pierce Photo) |
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| Crimson Fire’s First Response All Calls is a multipurpose apparatus. |
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| KME’s Ridgerunner interface pumper was introduced at FDIC. |
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| Rosenbauer’s Green Star pumper has an auxiliary power unit that shuts down the chassis engine when the pump is not engaged and takes over on-scene power functions for the apparatus.(Rosenbauer Photo) |
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| HME Ahrens-Fox exhibited this pumper powered by a compressed natural gas (CNG) engine at FDIC. The apparatus carries a CNG-powered generator. |
While no overriding trend in fire apparatus was introduced and displayed at this year’s Fire Department Instructors Conference in Indianapolis, several themes were evident – affordability, versatility and energy efficiency.
Two manufacturers introduced what they termed green vehicles – HME Ahrens-Fox and Rosenbauer.
HME of Wyoming, Mich., unveiled a pumper powered by a compressed natural gas (CNG) engine. Dave Fornell, HME’s director of marketing, called it “the nation’s first clean and green emergency response vehicle.”
The pumper, powered by a 320-hp Cummins Westport CNG engine and an Allison transmission, has a 750-gpm pump, a 500-gallon tank, a stainless steel rescue-style body with generous compartment space, a foam system and a CNG generator.
The vehicle is built on HME’s compact custom chassis, the SFO (Short Front Overhang), which was selected for its maneuverability, Fornell said.
He pointed out that 20,000 Cummins Westport CNG engines are in service worldwide, mostly on urban bus vehicles, and the current model meets Environmental Protection Agency emission standards without the use of filters and exhaust gas treatment devices needed on conventional diesel engines.
“Besides having no hydrocarbon emissions, using natural gas means a 40 percent savings in the cost of fuel,” Fornell said.
The green vehicle debuted by Rosenbauer of Lyons, S.D., was a custom pumper incorporating the company’s Green Star idle reduction technology with a Waterous 1,500-gpm midship pump and a 750-gallon booster tank.
Donley Frederickson, national sales manager, said the idle reduction system uses electronic controls to shut down the chassis engine on scene when the fire pump is not engaged. The electronic controls then start a diesel driven auxiliary power unit (APU) that supports the 12-volt electrical system and provides 8,000 watts of 120/240-volt power, enough to maintain chassis heating and cooling requirements.
“The APU uses approximately one-fourth the fuel compared to the chassis engine,” he said, “So it saves on fuel costs, lowers emissions and extends the service intervals between oil changes and [diesel particulate filter] service and replacement.”
On the multipurpose front, several manufacturers introduced apparatus at the FDIC trade show that fell into a category of legitimately carrying more than one label – rescue-pumper, pumper-tanker or interface vehicle.
Alexis Fire Equipment Company of Alexis, Ill., offered two multipurpose vehicles – a rescue-pumper and a pumper-tanker.
The rescue-pumper was built on a Spartan Metro Star 10-inch raised-roof chassis, powered by a Cummins ISL 425-hp diesel engine and Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission and carrying a Hale QMAX 1,500-gpm pump and a 500-gallon tank.
Alexis President K. Jeffrey (Jeff) Morris said the vehicle featured an EMS cabinet with backboard storage, two air bottle compartments with air pack pull-out boards, four upper storage compartments with a Zico rear top access ladder, and ladder and suction hose storage with rear access under the hose bed.
“The pump panel is located behind a door, which is becoming more popular with departments,” Morris said. “We also have the rescue tools located in a front bumper compartment for easy access on scene.”
The rescue-pumper has a 15,000-watt generator, two 150-foot electric cord reels, a pair of Fire Research Focus 750-watt front scene brow lights on the cab, five Extenda-Lite 750-watt side and rear lights and two Whelen 900 12-volt side scene lights.
The pumper-tanker Alexis showed in Indianapolis had a Peterbilt 367 2-door tandem chassis with a Cummins ISM400EV 425-hp diesel engine, an Allison 4000 EVS-P automatic transmission, a Hale QMAX 1,500-gpm pump and a 3,500-gallon water tank integral with the glass reinforced polyester body.
The vehicle carried three Mattydale pre-connects – one 2-1/2-inch and two 1-1/2-inch – three 2-1/2-inch discharges and a 4-inch discharge. It also had two E.J. Metals air-operated round tank dumps, one on each side, with 22-inch extensions, along with a Zico electric rack for a 3,500-gallon folding tank and room for three suction hose lengths. Tank fill valves were a 4-inch fill-dump valve on the rear and two 2-1/2-inch tank fills in the rear.
Rosenbauer also showed a pumper-tanker, the Maverick, built on a short 186-inch wheelbase with a 1,250-gallon booster tank and a Rosenbauer NH55 1,250-gpm PTO driven pump with EZ prime.
Frederickson said the vehicle had a 10-inch rear dump valve with 180-degree swivel extension, an Elkhart front turret, low-mounted crosslays with removal trays and 104 cubic feet of equipment storage space, including a swing-out tool board.
The pump could be fully controlled from the cab for pump-and-roll operations, Frederickson added.
Pierce Manufacturing of Appleton, Wis., introduced its new PUC pumper-tanker on an Impel chassis with a six-person 70-inch cab and 10-inch raised roof. The apparatus is rated at 22,800 pounds on the front axle and 48,000 pounds on the rear, while carrying a 2,500-gallon polypropylene tank and a Pierce 1,500-gpm single-stage PUC pump. The pump is driven off the engine’s flywheel, saving space by allowing the pump housing to be moved forward under the cab’s seat box area.
“The PUC pumper-tanker has a shorter wheelbase, 217-1/2 inches, and a lowered center of gravity that makes it much more maneuverable,” said Michael R. Moore, Pierce’s director of strategic product development and support. “This is the first PUC that we’ve built in the custom tanker product line.”
The PUC pumper-tanker has a hose bed capacity of 200 feet of 2-1/2-inch hose, 1,000 feet of 5-inch hose and 500 feet of 3-inch hose. It features Gortite roll-up doors, adjustable shelves with a 500-pound capacity, stainless steel plumbing, three Pierce-exclusive Elkhart 10-inch dump valves and pump-and-roll technology.
Marion Body Works of Marion, Wis., showed its RPM rescue pumper that sported a Hale 1,500-gpm midship pump, a 750-gallon polypropylene tank, a Spartan Gladiator cab and chassis, hidden cascade bottle storage and crosslays with fully extendable roll-out trays to either side built under the cab to maximize accessibility and compartment space.
Jim Thompson, Marion’s president and chief executive officer, said the RPM is built with side pump controls and a large diameter hose (LDH) discharge under the cab in order to provide compartment storage elsewhere on the vehicle. The unit can be fitted with a choice of light towers and generators and features an extended front bumper with a LED backlit extrication reel and tool storage.
KME Fire Apparatus of Nesquehoning, Pa., debuted its Ridgerunner interface pumper. “It’s not a typical interface pumper,” said Philip J. Gerace, KME’s director of sales and marketing, “because it is designed to meet the full requirements of a pumper as listed in [the National Fire Protection Association 1901 apparatus standard], while still maintaining the full off-road performance of a Type 3 wildland vehicle.”
The Ridgerunner is built on a Navistar 7400 4×4 crew cab with seating for five, carries a Hale interface pumping system offering 1,500-gpm stationary pumping and 100-gpm at 150-psi pump-and-roll capability at less than 2 mph.
The vehicle also has a Hale 2.1 Class A foam system, an 800-gallon water tank and 20-gallon foam tank, 200 cubic feet of compartment space, a remote-controlled bumper turret, a deck gun, an enclosed side pump panel and a full complement of NFPA ground ladders in the rear.
Crimson Fire of Brandon, S.D., showed a First Response All Calls apparatus built on a Spartan Furion chassis with a 168-1/2-inch wheelbase and an aluminum rescue pumper/command unit body. The vehicle is powered by a Caterpillar C7 330-hp diesel engine and Allison 3000 EVS transmission.
The First Response All Calls has a W.S. Darley 1,250-gpm PTO integrated pump with a 125-cfm CAFS system, a Foam Pro 2001 foam system, a 250-gallon water tank and a 25-gallon foam tank.
Nick Langerock, Crimson Fire’s marketing manager, said the vehicle was developed in response to changing needs of fire departments around the country.
“We’ve found that on only five percent of the calls is the pump engaged,” he said. “So we designed a vehicle that can be used for multiple kinds of calls.”
Ferrara Fire Apparatus Inc. of Holden, La., exhibited a Multi Vocational Pumper (MVP) built on an Inferno XC custom chassis with a 183-inch wheelbase.
Chris Ferrara, president and CEO, said the vehicle had an extended medium cab with an 8-inch raised roof, a Hale QMAX 2,000-gpm single-stage midship pump, a Hale AP50 500-gpm PTO pump for pump-and-roll operations, providing 330 gpm at 80 psi traveling at 2.5 mph, and a Foam Pro 2002 injection foam system.
The vehicle carries a heavy-duty extruded rescue pumper body with 460 cubic feet of storage in marine-grade aluminum compartments, 1,000 feet of 5-inch LDH and 600 feet of 3-inch hose in the hose bed and six oversized coffin compartments that store four 6,000-psi cascade bottles and additional equipment.
In promoting affordability at FDIC, a number of manufacturers offered units full of features, but not with all the choices many makers offer.
E-ONE of Ocala, Fla., introduced its Severe Duty Cab, reminiscent of metal dashboards and limited trim options so common in apparatus 25 to 30 years ago.
“The robust construction of the new cab trim was developed for departments needing extreme duty interiors due to their rigorous use of the apparatus,” said E-ONE Product Manager Joe Hedges.
E-ONE also showed an unusual version of an HP100 ladder built for the St. Paul (Minn.) Fire Department.
“The department had a need for a low travel height so we engineered a 44-inch wide and 4-1/2-inch deep depression in the cab roof to take the ladder in a lowered position,” Hedges said. “We made the cab crossbars and vertical posts stronger and redesigned the interior of the cab because of the modifications we made to the roof construction.”
The aerial is a rear-mounted straight stick with a severe duty cab layout, seating four firefighters along with interior cabinets.
Fort Garry Fire Trucks of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, introduced a pumper carrying a Darley PTO rear-mount 1,250-gpm pump, a 1,200-gallon water tank and a 30-gallon integral foam tank on an aluminum body.
The pumper was built on a Freightliner 4-door commercial cab and chassis rated for 14,000 pounds on the front axle and 27,000 pounds on the rear axle. It had a 330-hp diesel engine, an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission, roll-up compartment doors and a heated pump compartment.
Brian Nash, national sales manager at Fort Garry, said many departments are seeking affordability in fire trucks because of trimmed municipal budgets. “We’ve already sold nine of these vehicles to departments that are looking for value,” he said. “Plus, this pumper has a pump-and-roll capability, which makes it more versatile.”
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