By Alan M. Petrillo
Rosenbauer is developing a new “e” platform for its Panther ARFF (aircraft rescue and firefighting) truck that uses similar components with its current Panther ARFF truck and its RTX electric pumper.
“The major difference between the two is that the requirements for an ARFF truck are much more stringent in terms of performance,” says Philipp Platzl, Rosenbauer’s global product manager airport vehicles. “In the process of electrifying the current Panther generation, there’s no major difference in most of the systems, where it has the same cabin concept, axles, and pumping systems. We want to deliver a truck that can be charged up to 300-kilwowatts which are emission free.”
Duane Kann, Rosenbauer’s ARFF regional sales manager, says the Panther electric will have an Energy Backup System onboard, powered by a diesel engine like an APU (auxiliary power unit), that can be used as a booster to increase or extend energy in the entire system. “The Energy Backup System automatically engages when the battery is low enough to need the charge, but the truck is still always powered by batteries.”
The Panther electric will be built on the Rosenbauer Panther 6×6 chassis and cab that currently has tubular chassis frame rails, a high performance coil spring suspension, differential locks on the axles, with a fully-loaded top speed of approximately 70-mph and a fully-loaded acceleration of zero to 50-mph in 35 seconds. Kann notes, “The Panther electric will exceed both of these parameters, especially if the EBU (Energy Backup System) is engaged by the driver for an added power boost.”
The Panther electric will have a Rosenbauer N80 2,100-gallon per minute (gpm) pump, a 3,170-gallon water tank, a 400-gallon foam tank, a 500-pound dry chemical and/or Halotron system, a Rosenbauer RM35 turret with HydroChem, a single or twin-agent booster reel, preconnected hand lines, a windshield deluge system, and an automatic foam selection of 1% through 9%.
Panther electric 6×6 options will include a 6-kW to 15-kW power generator, multiple scene lighting configurations, an auxiliary air compressor, tire pressure monitoring system, various slide-out shelves, a high pressure water pump, driver enhanced vision systems, a rear steer and an Electronic Stability Control system.
Kann says Rosenbauer plans on building a small number of Panther Electric ARFF trucks that will be partnered with key customers around the world.
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Posted: Mar 30, 2023
By Alan M. Petrillo
Fire Station 6, the oldest active fire station of the Raleigh (NC) Fire Department, had been built in 1949 in the heart of the city’s most prominent historic district.
Its relatively small size of 5,400 square feet severely limited the accommodation of modern fire apparatus as well as personnel accommodations, so the city decided to replace it with a new structure, hiring Stewart Cooper Newell Architects (SCN) to design and build the new Fire Station 6 on the same site.
“The station was outdated for our needs,” says James Poole, Raleigh’s division chief. “And to complicate the building of a new station was the fact the property was only one-sixth of an acre, a large oak tree on the back of the site had to be protected, and there was a large underground cistern at the back of the parking lot.”
Ken Newell, principal at SCN, says, “The original station was a tiny, two-story structure on an extremely tight site with a very sloped grade change. It was in a nice neighborhood of old historic homes and the neighbors were anxious about what the scale of the new building might be. We didn’t want it to overpower the area homes, so we picked up on some of the external elements of those homes and incorporated them into our design.”
Newell notes that SCN designed true arches over the apparatus bay doors to fit the neighborhood detailing, as well as the area masonry and roof forms. “We also were able to salvage some materials from the original fire station,” he says. “We took some brick, wood flooring, original hardware and signage, and a fire pole and incorporated a lot of those materials in the lobby of the new station. The original fire pole was set up in the lobby to be a museum piece as well.”
Jody Jackson, SCN project manager, says the new station is a two-story structure for which SCN earned a Silver LEED certification. “There is 15 feet of grade change from the front of the station to the back because we had to build it into the side of a hill and maintain a lot of the grade, so the building is two stories at the front and three stories at the back. The lower section holds a lot of the structure’s mechanical spaces.”
He notes that the new station’s windows and arches are features that emulate some of the architecture in the nearby residential section, while exterior colors are similar to those of businesses in the area. “We introduced a herringbone pattern to the bricking, with arched brick around the door arches,” Jackson says. “And we installed terra cotta tile on the mansard roof that also emulates the neighborhood roofs.”
Jackson says new Fire Station 6 is 14,990 square feet, with the ground floor holding two double-deep, back-in apparatus bays that have a Plymovent exhaust removal system, a separate decon area, and a turnout gear storage room. Separated by a yellow zone corridor, the living/working section of the ground floor has men’s and women’s toilet facilities, a radio report room, storage are
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Posted: Mar 30, 2023
Sutphen—Sugar Grove (IL) Fire Protection District top-controls pumper. Monarch cab and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; Hale Qmax 1,500-gpm pump; UPF Poly 1,000-gallon water tank. Dealer: Ben Brown, Legacy Fire Apparatus, Shorewood, IL. (Photo by author)
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Posted: Mar 30, 2023
The Biloxi Fire Department added three new pumpers recently, wxxv25.com reported.
The new engines were manufactured in Wisconsin and driven to Alabama to their service center, the report said.
Some of the department’s trucks are coming up on their 20-year mark and will be replaced. The new engines will cover Woolmarket and the North Biloxi area, according to the report.
One of the new ones, Engine 7, is dedicated to Biloxi High School, the report said. It will be housed at the station, but will be used for all the football games and EMT services. Instead of putting the original department’s badge on the engine, it has an arrowhead for the Biloxi High Indians.
After the engines are serviced, the department plans to invite the public to come view them, the report said.
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