By Bob Vaccaro
The Bernardsville Fire Company No. 1 is located in Somerset County, New Jersey in the north central region. “It has the most rural fire response area,” according to Chief Charles Ferrante.
“Only about 35% of our response area has hydrants,” Ferrante said. “The remaining area requires us to sustain tanker operations for any major type of fires in our response district. Some of our major target hazards are Meadowbrook Inventions which is a large manufacturer that is the world’s leading producer of Glitter and MJ Neil Oil Company.
“The planning for this new engine started a few years ago,” Ferrante said. “Back in 1994 when our older engine was built, we didn’t have a tanker. Its primary job was water supply and mostly was used for drafting. The old engine was small, low and short. It was designed to get to a local pond or a pool where we didn’t have hydrants. Since that time we purchased a 3,500-gallon tanker and we work a lot with our mutual-aid departments and their tanker ops. This is a lot more than we did in the past.
“The new pumper was designed to support tanker operations in town and for surrounding mutual-aid companies that we work with. It is equipped with 70 feet of hard-suction hose mounted in slide-in holders on the driver’s side of the vehicle, 4,000 feet of 5-inch LDH, a 3,500-gallon portable pond equipment for a tanker fill and dump site, front suction and 2 LDG discharges.
“We chose Ferrara for the build and made several inspection trips to the factory. Some changes were made along the way, but all in all everything went well.”
The Bernardsville Fire Company was proactive when it designed the pumper, taking into consideration the need for an apparatus to use in conjunction with supporting tanker operations in their immediate area.
When designing an apparatus for your department, consider the target hazards that you have and also how it will be used not only in your response area but mutual-aid areas as well.
Ferrara Inferno chassis
- 32′ 3″ OAL
- 10′ 3-3/4″ OAH
- 196″ w/b
- Cummins X15 500 hp engine / Allison 4000 EVS transmission
- 62″ extended length cab with 8″ raised roof
- Seating for 6
- Frontal impact and side roll protection airbags
- Med cabinet behind driver seat
- FRC inView 360 system
- Waterous 2250 GPM CMU 2-stage pump
- FRC Pump Boss governor
- Front suction through the bumper face
- Front bumper discharge
- Two 300′ crosslays; one for 1-3/4″ and one for 2-1/2″
- Akron 3440 wireless remote monitor above pump house
- 4″ LDH discharges: right side, left rear, right rear
- FoamPro 2002 plumbed to front bumper, both crosslays, right side 2-1/2″
- 750 gallons water + 30 gallons foam; UPF poly tank
- MAXVISION tank level lights both sides of the cab and rear body
- Six 6″ x 12′ hard suction left side
- Full height compartments right side
- Hydraulic powered 3000-gallon portable tank rack right side, dual arm
- Ground ladders/roof hooks stored between tank and high side
- Hotel pack storage above right side full height compts
- Wheel well storage for 6 bottles (2 x 3 left side) and 3 extinguishers (20# ABC, 2-1/2 gallon water can, 15# CO2 right side)
- Hose bed sized to carry 4000′ x 5″ Snap Tite, 150′ x 2-1/2″ and 300′ x 3″
- Onan 6kW PTO/hydraulic generator
- Command Light SL422A-FX light tower with two 120V LED Spectra Max SPC105-K28
- Hannay ECR1618-17-18 cord reel with 200′ x 10/3 in driver side dunnage
