By Mike Ciampo
Franklin Lakes, New Jersey sits outside New York City in Bergen County and is considered a vibrant suburb.
In years past, it was a town boasting numerous farms and mills that would eventually disappear, turning it into a residential community. In addition, it once was home to IBM corporate offices and now has Becton Dickinson headquarters located in the borough.
These large firms helped turn much of the once rural area into a prime residential location with employees flocking to the neighborhoods. The borough has a beautiful countryside feel with lakes and wooded areas as homes dot its picturesque landscape.
The town also has two major highways running through it, Interstate Route 287 and NJ State Route 208, which can add incidents for all public safety units.
During a blizzard in December of 1924, citizens gathered to discuss the formation of a volunteer fire department. By the end of the meeting, 25 members of the community became the founders of the department. Due to the unforeseen weather conditions, the department would seek to add members through the new year.
Today, the Franklin Lakes Fire Department operates out of two firehouses: Headquarters and Southside. The department currently responds with the following apparatus from Headquarters: a 2009 Pierce Velocity Heavy Rescue, a 2005 Pierce Dash 105’ Aerial Ladder, a 1997 Pierce Saber Engine and a 2016 Gravely Atlas JSV3300 All-Terrain Vehicle.
The Southside firehouse responds with the following apparatus and equipment housed there: a 2016 Pierce Arrow XT Engine, a 2016 Pierce Arrow XT Engine/3,500-gallon tanker, a 2013 Ford F550 with Swab 12’ utility truck, a 2019 Achillies Inflatable boat and a 2005 Rescue One Connector boat. They also run a few Chevrolet vehicles: a 2016 Suburban Chief’s vehicle, a 2011 Tahoe Assistant Chief vehicle and a 2003 Suburban Utility transport vehicle.
The department is very proud to have its original 1926 Seagrave 350-gpm pumper, chemical truck and hose car, which is in pristine condition, as its show piece. Another special rig is a 1943 government surplus Chevy 4×4 front-mounted Darley 250-gpm pump and 300-gallon water tank. The old “GI” as known in the department served for 32 years and responded to numerous brush fires over the years and now is once again back in the department’s possession.
Running out of Headquarters, Squad 3 is the newest piece of apparatus. It’s a 2021 Pierce Enforcer with an Arrow XT 67-inch chassis with a 12-inch raised roof, tilt-cab and aluminum body. The apparatus cab features a Command Zone electrical system and has side and frontal impact protection air-bags. The cab also features Kussmaul auto-eject shoreline and air inlet, Retrac heated and remote mirrors, Federal Q2B siren, Mars Warning light, Fire Research Spectra visor LED scene light, Whelen Freedom light bars and two Grover air horns recessed into the front bumper. The body features Amdor roll-up compartment doors.
With seating for six, firefighters can easily exit either side of the apparatus from the walk-through cab. The rig is powered by a Cummins L9 450-hp engine with a Jake compression brake and features an Allison EVS 3000 automatic transmission. The rig carries a 750-gallon water tank and 50-gallon class A foam tank. It has a Hale Q-Max 1,500-gpm single stage pump, a Husky 3 single agent foam system and a Hercules 200 cfm CAFS System.
With the department frequently operating on the interstate with tractor-trailer accidents and fires, the foam systems have provided them with more “weapons” in their firefighting tactical deployment arsenal.
The rig is painted all red with yellow and black reflective stripes running along the bottom of the cab and then in a “Z” pattern on the first compartment back from the pump panel and then along the upper portion of the rescue body.
The rear of the rig has the DOT compliant safety chevron pattern attached to it and a Hiviz LED scene light for illuminating the rear of the rig.
On the sides of the rig in the upper body portion, two Fire Research Spectra lights are mounted to illuminate emergency scenes. The rear hose bed has storage for 2,000-feet of five-inch hose, 300-feet of three-inch and 2 ½-inch hose and two beds of 300-feet of 1 ¾-inch hose. The Squad carries a 24-foot two-section extension ladder, a 14-foot roof ladder and a 12-foot folding ladder on a hydraulic ladder rack.
It also features a Hannay electric reel which holds 100-feet of one-inch booster line, mounted on the top of the pump panel on the officer’s side. The monitor nozzle is an Akron Monitor with quad stacked tips mounted on a TFT Extend-a Gun system.
Looking at the chauffeur’s side of the apparatus, the first compartment back from the pump panel is the fittings and appliance storage area. Inside this compartment, there is a tool box type storage system with three-deep draws in place. Over the wheel well, is a Scott SCBA for the chauffeur and hinged peg-board storage racks, carrying hand tools and equipment.
The rear compartment has three fixed storage racks which hold the rig’s fire extinguishers and a TFT Blitzfire on the top shelf. The middle shelf holds two high-rise hose packs and portable lighting. The bottom shelf stores the Blowhard exhaust fan, medical bag and a tool case.
On the officer’s side of the Squad, the first compartment behind the pump panel carries a Husqvarna rotary saw, Stihl chain saw and a come-a-long on the bottom of the compartment. The middle shelf carries a floor jack, tool pouch and chains. The wall systems holds the jack handles, extra saw blades, a windshield cutter, an officer’s Halligan bar and a piercing nozzle, often used at the tractor-trailer fires. The wheel well compartment on this side of the rig holds their Resq-jacks and associated equipment. The rear compartment holds the Holmatro cordless hydraulic rescue tools, cribbing, rescue appliances with spare batteries in the battery chargers.
Squad 3 is surely set-up in a manner that affords the company to easily access and retrieve tools from the rig. It also allows the firefighters the ability to perform dual rolls or individual roles whenever called upon. The citizens and travelers in this community are in good hands when the department arrives on scene.
Michael N. Ciampo is a 37-year veteran of the fire service and a Lieutenant in the Fire Department of New York. Previously he served with the District of Columbia Fire Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is the lead instructor for FDIC International Truck Essentials HOT program. He wrote the Ladders and Ventilation chapters for Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter 1 & 2 and the Bread and Butter Portable Ladders DVD. He writes the back page column On Fire in Fire Engineering and is featured in Training Minutes truck company videos on FireEngineering.com. Recently he wrote the textbook Tower Ladders, Tactics, Tips & Tales.
