With the ongoing drought and the Mississippi River hitting low levels in the area, this is causing issues getting boats out on the water, which impacts the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, KFVS12.com reported.

The fire department is limited in deploying certain equipment they use due to the low water, the report said.

A fire official said that river access points are now mostly inaccessible as there is not enough depth for their boats to float in. In order for the fire department to use its larger boat, the river needs to be at least 12.5 feet on the river gauge to be able to launch from the Red Star boat ramp. The river currently sits at around 6.5 feet, the report said.

While the low river levels do limit some capacities for the fire department, the fire official said it is still going to assist anyone that needs help however they can, according to the report.

By Alan M. Petrillo

Aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) firefighters now have an electric option in an ARFF truck with the introduction of the Oshkosh Striker® Volterra™.

It’s a close cousin to Pierce Manufacturing’s Volterra Type 1 pumper but with a Scania engine; onboard batteries; and an electro-mechanical transmission that deliver a lot more zip to the vehicle’s acceleration capabilities, even while negotiating 90 degree turns on taxiways to get to the location of an incident quickly and safely.

Jack Bermingham, business unit director of airport products for Oshkosh Airport Products LLC, says Oshkosh developed the Striker Volterra hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) ARFF truck, which is being offered on Oshkosh’s 4×4 and 6×6 chassis platforms, as a vehicle that’s engineered to channel mechanical power and battery power to maximize driving and pumping performance while reducing fuel consumption and emissions.

Oshkosh Airport Products ‘Road Rally’ to Bring Striker Volterra ARFF Hybrid Electric Vehicle to Locations in North America

Electric Apparatus Make Their Way into the Fire Service

ARFF Archives

ARFF Units at Airports Vary in Size Depending on Aircraft and Airports Being Protected

ARFF Leaders: Are We Training Them for Failure?

Small-Size ARFF Trucks Often Protect Smaller and Midsize Airfields

ARFF Service: a Relationship Business

New and Refined ARFF Truck Designs

“Users will still enjoy legacy features found on the Striker ARFF vehicle while gaining the benefits of the Striker Volterra technology,” he points out. “Operation of the vehicle is consistent with current Striker ARFF models, so no additional training is necessary, which eases operations and fleet integration.”

Bermingham

Chelan County Fire Marshal Steve Rinaldi has a plan: Water tanks at a dozen sites throughout the county to save time and property during wildfires. The idea is that the less time shuttling water tenders — a firefighting vehicle that carries water — between fires and the nearest hydrant will equal more time spent fighting fires.
- PUB DATE: 10/17/2022 7:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wenatchee World - Metered Site

Residents of Toronto and Brampton (Canada) will soon see a fire engine passing them on the street without the heavy roar of a diesel engine. That is because the fire services for both cities will soon have fully battery-electric pumper trucks in their fleets, Wheels.ca reported.

In late August, Toronto Fire Services announced that two all-electric Vector fire trucks have been ordered from Spartan Emergency Response, a U.S.-based designer and manufacturer of specialty vehicles, the report said.

Toronto will be one of the first fire departments in Canada to operate the Vector pumpers, which will be powered by 327 kilowatt-hours worth of automotive-grade batteries, according to the report.

While Toronto’s decision to go with an electric pumper was big news, it is not the first fire service in the province to do so. That honor goes to the Brampton Fire and Emergency services, which ordered an electric pumper truck in June 2021, the report said.

It has opted to purchase a Rosenbauer RTX, a unit designed by Rosenbauer America. The pumper has 132-kilowatt-hours of power but is smaller and different in overall appearance from a traditional fire truck, the report said. 

By Bill Adams

Over morning coffee, the Raisin Squad was addressing the day’s major problems – inflation, threat of war, rising school taxes, re-paving the streets in town and what’s for lunch at the senior center. One vertically challenged geezer started moaning and groaning – again – about the chair heights at the kitchen table. We pay him little attention.

But he was on a roll – not even coming up for air: “I looked in the cab of that new rig but the damn step was too high to get in.”  We told him only active members belong in the cabs. He kept complaining “I pulled myself up on the rear step but them folding steps are so far apart I couldn’t get higher.” One white hair told him to sue his parents for giving him short legs. “I can’t – they passed years ago.” We said he shouldn’t be climbing that high or he’d get a nosebleed. “There’s actives in here shorter than me. They gotta have a hard time too.” 

Then out-of-the-clear came this: “Yesterday I used the handicap facility at the center. My legs were dangling in the air. It was higher than them damn fold down seats in the that pumper you sold us 30 years ago.”  I said I didn’t sell it. “It don’t matter; you were on the committee. Why can’t you people build fire trucks for short people?” I left.

NFPA 1901

Stumpy (his new nickname) made a couple good points. The first is the step heights on fire trucks and the second is the seat height in the crew cabs. The National Fire Protection Association NFPA 1901 for Standard Automotive Fire Apparatus says under 15.7.1.1 “The maximum stepping height shall not exceed 18 in. (460 mm), with the exception of the ground to first step, which shall not exceed 24 in. (610 mm) when the vehicle is loaded to its estimated in-service weight.” 

Those are maximum distances. How did the NFPA come up with those figures? What’s the best comfort height for climbing access steps on a fire truck? Can a purchaser specify steps less than 18-inches apart and the first one less than 24-inches from the ground? 

Risers

A step riser is the height from one stepping surface to the another. Researching them on the web shows numerous regulatory, or recommended, or industry accepted standards including some from OSHA, the NFPA, and the International Building Code. They address workplace stairs, commercial stairs, steps for the fire service and general public, homes, step ladders, and you name it. 

Nothing says if their requirements have to be are in synch. One OSHA requirement says step risers should be no less than 6 inches in height and no more than 7.5 inches; another says 4-inches to 7-inches. The step risers in most houses are around 7½-inches.

NFPA 1931 and Common Sense

NFPA 1931 Standard for Manufacturer’s Design of Fire Department Ground Ladders under 4.1.3.6* states: “Rungs shall be uniformly spaced ±3 mm (±1∕8 in.) on centers that are between 305 mm and 356 mm (12 in. and 14 in.).” 

I venture the NFPA assumes firefighters in full protective clothing will be climbing up and down ladders as well as climbing