Jackson Hole Fire/EMS is located in Teton County, Wyoming, and has a great expanse of land in its response district. The fire department covers 4,200 square miles of mostly a rural area.
The department has a great deal of federal land included in this massive area like the National Elk Refuge, National Forest, and Grand Teton National Park. “Its many subdivisions of housing contain roughly 30,000 full-time residents, which swells to 100,000 people during tourist season,” says Chief Matt Redwine. “The area has many busy commuter highways that have 15,000 vehicles per day traveling throughout the area.”
Redwine explains that the response area is isolated, so the department cannot rely on mutual aid, deciding to make the department self-reliant. “Presently we have six stations staffed with paid firefighters at two of them and volunteers at four stations,” he says. “Because of the way we operate, we thought that combining an engine with a rescue would give us a better response from our stations.”
The department’s apparatus replacement cycle it tries to adhere to is 20 years, although sometimes it has gone to 25 years. For this unit, it formed an apparatus planning committee in 2019 comprising an assistant chief, a fleet mechanic, and officers to gain their input. It was replacing a 1994 medium-size rescue truck. “It served us well, but we needed something that would give us more room for equipment and also act as an engine company if needed,” says Redwine. The department had to go out for bid on the new vehicle and ultimately chose Pierce, which met the department’s spec. The rig was budgeted from the Town of Jackson and Teton County general funds.
This rig is the second Pierce in the department’s fleet, so its firefighters were familiar with its operation, and the department was familiar with its local dealer, Frontline Fire Apparatus, according to Daniel Meagher, the fleet mechanic for the department. “We were impressed with Pierce’s operations at the factory as well as the operation of the rescue-pumper itself,” he says. “We chose the Pierce Ultimate Configuration (PUC) for our purchase. It gives us maximum maneuverability and also gives us greater storage capacity for all of our equipment.”
The added space for EMS supplies allows the new engine to assist ambulances during medical responses. The vehicle also carries rope rescue equipment for handling over-the-edge rescues in mountainous areas, a full complement of HURST Jaws of Life extrication tools for auto accidents, swift water rescue equipment, and wildland firefighting gear. Also carried is the normal complement of engine company and forcible entry tools.
The region’s harsh winters caused the department to spec a fully enclosed pump panel for winter operations. Its preconnects are easier for firefighters to access, and the extrication tools are on a rotary mount for quicker deployment during an auto extrication. “This time around, we didn’t go with a generator, which takes up a great deal of space on the vehicle,” says Meagher. “All of our equipment is battery-powered—fans, saws, tools, and extrication equipment. The vehicle’s 12-volt electrical system is more than adequate to handle the load.”
1 The Pierce Enforcer PUC rescue-pumper for Jackson Hole Fire/EMS features a 1,500-gpm pump, a 980-gallon water tank, and a 20-gallon foam tank. (Photo courtesy of Pierce Manufacturing.)
2 The driver’s side PUC, narrow, fully enclosed pump panel with crosslays, forcible entry tools, saws, and engine company fittings. (Photos 2-4 courtesy of Jackson Hole Fire/EMS.)
Specifications
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3 Officer’s side with short lengths of 3-inch hose, HURST Jaws of Live eDRAULIC battery-powered extrication tools, hand tools, and tarps.
4 The rig’s rear access ladder to the body’s coffin compartments.
The rescue-pumper carries 800 feet of 5-inch large-diameter hose supply line, 600 feet of 3-inch hose, 200 feet of 2½-inch hose, and two 200-foot lengths of 1¾-inch preconnects in a removal tray. “The extra compartment space, as well as the capability of using this new rescue-engine, is a big plus for us,” adds Meagher. “The people out at the Pierce factory in Appleton as well as our local dealer, Frontline Fire Apparatus, listened to all of our ideas and concerns during the build, which made for an easier transition as well as service after the sale,” says Redwine.
Jackson Hole Fire/EMS needed to purchase a new apparatus that would serve dual purposes for fire/EMS and rescue operations and decided to go with a rescue-pumper. The Pierce PUC gave it the best of both worlds. Added compartment space provides added room for not only EMS, fire, and normal extrication equipment but also fans, saws, and truck company tools. It also took advantage of the added space for swift water rescue equipment and rope rescue gear.
Always look ahead when planning for an apparatus purchase. The mantra today is doing more with less. If it means combining two pieces of apparatus with a rescue-pumper, then that might be the way to go. Staffing is an issue as well. Jackson Hole Fire/EMS was proactive in its research and subsequent purchase of this new rescue-pumper that should serve it well into the future.
BOB VACCARO has more than 40 years of fire service experience. He is a former chief of the Deer Park (NY) Fire Department. Vaccaro has also worked for the Insurance Services Office, the New York Fire Patrol, and several major commercial insurance companies as a senior loss-control consultant. He is a life member of the IAFC.
