The Fort Worth Fire Department is replacing 11 fire trucks and will add personal protective equipment to supplement a gear exchange program, according to a press release from FortWorthTexas.gov.

The city council recently approved spending $14 million with Siddons Martin Emergency Group to buy new trucks that will replace aging apparatus. Once the order is placed, the new trucks will be delivered in a little more than two years.

The department will also spend approximately $5.4 million over the next four years to buy gear and extractors used to clean the gear. The contract is with Ohio-based Lion First Responder PPE and Alabama-based North America Fire Equipment Co.

Firefighters borrow gear from the exchange program when their personal set is being cleaned.

The new trucks will replace older trucks that have reached their service life. That is determined by age, hours of use and maintenance costs. Engine trucks, for example, are replaced within eight to 10 years and then become a reserve for another five to seven years.

On October 27, after nearly three years of planning and assessment, the Orange County Fire Authority Board of Directors approved the purchase of two new Sikorsky S70 FIREHAWK helicopters, AerialFireMag.com reported. The new aircraft will replace the two OCFA 1966 UH-1H “Super Hueys” that were grounded in 2020 due to significantly increased cost of operating these legacy aircraft.

FIREHAWKS have become the industry standard across the Southern California fire service, and with this approval, the OCFA joins its surrounding peer agencies — Santa Barbara Fire, Ventura County Fire, LA County Fire, San Diego Fire, and CAL FIRE — that already have FIREHAWK helicopters in their respective fleets, the report said.

Malvern Fire Department held an official grand opening Tuesday of its new fire station, located at 712 W. Moline Street, with a public dedication and “hose uncoupling” ceremony, Malvern-Online.com reported. The hose uncoupling is common practice for fire stations, in lieu of the usual ribbon cutting protocol.

The new fire station on Moline Street is positioned where the former North Malvern Station sat from 1954 until early 2021. The new facility will be known as Fire Station No. 1, the report said. The other station in Malvern, located at 1107 South Main Street, is referred to as Fire Station No. 2.

The new fire station is a large and modern two-story building with a public lobby entrance, large and spacious bays and pleasant living quarters for the firefighters who reside there during their work shifts, the report said. The new layout and situation of the building offers easy maneuverability for the emergency response vehicles.

On September 20, the Sandy City Council voted to allocate a total of $11 million to take the next steps for three public buildings in Sandy, SandyJournal.com reported.

Four million dollars were set aside for the design process of those buildings—$1 million for the fire station, the report said. Seven million will go toward phase 2 construction of a new public works building.

Fire Station 31 was built in 1984 and serves as a station and administrative offices. The building sustained foundation damage during the March 2020 earthquake, according to a video walkthrough led by a fire official in June. The roof has leaks and all runoff from rain and snowmelt drains into the fire engine bay, which can make the floor slippery. Perhaps ironically, the bedrooms that have been added onto the station do not meet any kind of fire code, according to the fire official, the report said.

More information can be found on Sandy City’s website: www.sandy.utah.gov/2003/City-Building-Needs.

Keeping It Safe Robert Tutterow

Interschutz, a trade show for fire and emergency services, is held once every five years in Germany, usually in Hannover. The majority of the vendors are European based. Because of COVID, this year’s show was the first since 2015 and there were not as many exhibits as in previous years.

PPE in Europe is an interesting study, as it often is ahead of the U.S. market. For example, Europe was the first to use leather boots and mask-mounted SCBA regulators, establish cleaning protocols, and procure cleaning equipment. And, their helmets are far more functional and integrate with the rest of the PPE ensemble in ways not possible with U.S.-style helmets.

One of the first items that got my attention was a positive pressure respirator by Tiki. The company designed the unit for hospital workers, but it probably has application in the firefighting world. Imagine being dispatched to a COVID-related call and being able to don simple, lightweight respiratory protection without the weight and bulk of an SCBA. The electronic unit does not require a cylinder. It has a filtration system (inhale and exhale), has a 1- to 2.5-hour duration, and is reusable (photo 1).

• Observations from Interschutz 2022
• Interschutz 2015: a Platform for International Exposure
• Interschutz 2015 Fire Apparatus by Dave Stewardson
• Smeal Displays CORE Pumper at Interschutz 2015
• Allison Transmission to Showcase Products at Interschutz 2015

The cleaning equipment for PPE was by far the largest ever displayed at Interschutz. There were multiple variations of washer/extractors, drying equipment, and machines for cleaning PPE elements other than pants and coats (photo 2).

Many of the drying machine configurations would handle these elements. Of particular interest was a company, Decontex, which uses liquid CO₂ to clean PPE. Though very expensive, it appears to do a great job of cleaning and gear is dry when the 30-minute cleaning process is complete. Moreover, it is suitable for cleaning the entire ensemble of helmet, hood, coat, gloves, pants, and b