Hopelawn (NJ) Engine Company No. 1 had a 2007 rescue truck built by Rescue 1 that needed to be replaced because the department outgrew the configuration of the older unit.
So Hopelawn again turned to Rescue 1 for a new heavy rescue truck that could be configured to the department’s changed needs.
Brian Turcotte, Hopelawn past chief and chair of the truck committee, says Engine Company No. 1, established in 1914, is an all-volunteer department with 27 firefighters staffing two engines, 2014 and 2009 Pierce pumpers with 2,000-gallon per minute (gpm) pumps and 750-gallon water tanks, a 2015 Chevy Tahoe chief’s vehicle, a utility pickup truck, and the rescue truck. “The largest portion of our response with the rescue truck is for motor vehicle accidents because we have the Garden State Parkway and three state highways (State Routes 9, 440, and 616) running through our district carrying approximately 300,000 vehicles a day through our town,” Turcotte observes.
The other reason for a new rescue, he adds, is the fact that Hopelawn has a rapid intervention team (RIT) based out of its rescue that provides RIT response not only in its own district but also to several of the eight other fire districts in Woodbridge Township. “The new rescue is the same body size of 18 feet 9 inches like our previous rescue,” Turcotte says, “but we changed the chassis and redesigned compartments and storage areas to maximize where we could locate the equipment we need to carry.”
Jamey Pallitto, sales manager for New Jersey Emergency Vehicles, who sold the walk-around heavy rescue truck to Hopelawn, says the truck is built on a Spartan Gladiator chassis and cab with seating for six firefighters in H.O. Bostrom seats, powered by a 450-horsepower (hp) Cummins L9 diesel engine and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission. Wheelbase on the rescue is 195 inches, overall length is 33 feet 4 inches, and overall height is 10 feet 7 inches.
1 Rescue 1 built this walk-around heavy rescue truck for Hopelawn (NJ) Engine Company No.1 on a Spartan Gladiator chassis powered by a 450-hp Cummins L9 diesel engine and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission. (Photos 1-6 courtesy of Rescue 1.)
department
Hopelawn (NJ) Engine Company No. 1
Strength: 27 volunteer firefighters, one station.
Service area: Hopelawn Engine Company No. 1 is one of nine fire districts in Woodbridge Township and provides fire suppression, rescue, and RIT services to an area crisscrossed by the Garden State Parkway and three major state highways that carry 300,000 vehicles a day through its district.
Other apparatus: 2014 Pierce pumper, 2,000-gpm pump, 750-gallon water tank; 2009 Pierce pumper, 2,000-gpm pump, 750-gallon water tank; 2015 Chevy Tahoe chief’s vehicle; utility pickup truck.
Brad Turk, regional sales manager for Rescue 1, says his company and New Jersey Emergency Vehicles worked closely with Hopelawn’s truck committee to determine where the department’s equipment would be located. “One of the goals was to put on the new truck all the equipment the previous rescue carries, as well as all the RIT gear and equipment,” Turk points out, “which meant fine tuning the space on the vehicle for where things would be placed. We got a list of their equipment and their sizes, determined where they wanted it located, and figured out how large the compartment sizes should be and then allowed 10% extra capacity for future storage.”
Turk says the new heavy rescue’s compartments are full of adjustable trays and shelves and roll-out trays and tool boards. “The department brought its old rescue to us and pulled the tools out of each compartment and laid them on the floor,” he says. “We worked together compartment by compartment, starting with L1, and took photos, got dimensions and weights of the equipment, and then worked to place them from floor to ceiling—the heaviest items on the bottom of compartments and lighter equipment on top.”
2 The Hopelawn heavy rescue has a Will-Burt Night Scan light tower with FRC Optima LED lights located on top of the cab to allow for more storage space on top of the body.
3 The rescue’s L1 compartment has HURST Jaws of Life hydraulic rescue tools mounted on a Zico lazy Susan-type mounting on a slide-out tray.
4 Access to the rescue’s five coffin compartments and absorbent dispenser bin is by a lift-up rear stairway.
5 Rescue 1 built a large, deep compartment under the lift-up stairway for RIT gear and other equipment.
Pallitto notes that the truck’s Will-Burt Night Scan LED light tower was moved from the dunnage area to the cab roof, which allowed for more storage space on top of the rig. “They have five coffin compartments on top of the vehicle, along with an absorbent dispenser bin,” he says. “Four 6,000-psi cascade air bottles are stored in the two rearmost coffin compartments, while still leaving one third of each of those coffins open for other equipment.”
Turcotte says that the heavy rescue’s L1 compartment has a roll-out tray with a Zico lazy Susan-style mounting that holds HURST™ Jaws of Life® 5000 series tools (two rams, a spreader, a cutter, and a combi tool) as well as hydraulic reels and a control module for the hydraulic pump. The R1 compartment has a roll-out tray that holds a custom five-drawer toolbox for hand tools and cascade system equipment, while trays for additional storage are above the toolbox.
6 The rescue’s R3 compartment holds a Breathing Air Systems Sierra booster and two-bottle fill station.
7 Hopelawn’s new heavy rescue with its rear stairway raised and slide-out tray and tool board extended during a fire call where the department used its RIT equipment. (Photo 7 courtesy of Hopelawn Engine Company No. 1.)
specs
Rescue 1 Walk-Around Heavy Rescue
- Spartan Gladiator chassis and four-door cab with seating for six firefighters
- Wheelbase: 195 inches
- Overall length: 33 feet 4 inches
- Overall height: 10 feet 7 inches
- Body length: 18 feet 9 inches
- 28-inch heavy-duty structural steel extended front bumper
- HURST™ Jaws of Life® hydraulic rescue tools and hydraulic hose reels in L1/R1 transverse compartment
- Breathing Air Systems Sierra booster and two-bottle fill station
- 35-kW Onan PTO generator
- V-MUX electrical system
- Will-Burt Night Scan LED light tower
He adds that the R3 compartment holds a Breathing Air Systems two-bottle fill station, the R2 compartment is filled with cribbing, and the R4 compartment has air bottles and air bags. “We chose to have Rescue 1 put in a full lift-up stairway at the rear of the vehicle with a compartment underneath where we store a stokes basket, backboard, and our RIT equipment,” Turcotte says.
On the front of the rig, Rescue 1 installed a 28-inch heavy-duty, structural-steel extended front bumper with a full-length compartment that holds a hydraulic reel, an electric reel, and a battery-operated eDraulic® HURST tool.
Palette points out that the heavy rescue has a 35-kW Onan power takeoff (PTO) generator, Whelen LED emergency lighting, a Whelen Freedom IV LED light bar, 12-volt Whelen LED Pioneer scene lights, FRC 240-volt LED Optima scene lights on the sides of the body and on the light tower, Whelen custom LED air stick lights on both sides of the rear stairway, and Amdor LED compartment lights.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
