By Bill Peters
For the 24th consecutive year, Spartan Emergency Response Vehicles held its fire truck training conference at the Lansing Center in Lansing, Michigan. According to Bill Foster, founder of Spartan Trucks, 331 technicians from the United States, Canada, and some foreign countries attended the many classes. Seven firefighter cadets from the Jackson County College were also in attendance.
Spartan wholeheartedly supports the Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) Certification Commission. In addition to many of the classes being test-prep courses, Spartan provided classroom space for the numerous EVT exams on both Sunday and Friday. A record 53 technicians took EVT exams on Sunday and 184 on Friday.
Classes were held in two large banquet halls, nine classrooms, and three smaller banquet halls and ranged from 90 minutes to 12 hours, depending on the subject matter. Classes were divided into three tracs:
- Trac-1 Designed for individuals such as operators, engineers, or equipment officers who want to learn basic operations and maintenance at an introductory level.
- Trac-2 Designed for maintenance technicians or people at the service and repair level, including some hands-on classes.
- Trac-3 Designed for heavy repair technicians who are interested in receiving hands-on technical training.
Bill Foster pointed out that the importance of this annual conference is to train all EVTs and not just Spartan customers. The classes were not “brand-specific” but open to all brands and types of apparatus. The classes were as follows:
Trac-1
- Belts, Hoses, and Cooling System
- Cab Safety Inspections
- Class 1 Pressure Governors
- Cooling Systems
- Cummins Engine Maintenace
- Driver Operator Inspections
- Electrolysis and Corrosion
- FRC Pressure Governors
- Introduction to IDEX FSG Multiplexing
- Lubricants for Emergency Vehicles
- Management Level 1, Supervisor
- Safety Lighting
- Starting, Charging Diagnostics and Battery Technology
- Test Prep
Trac-2
- Aerial Fire Apparatus
- Air Bag Protection
- Air Conditioning Maintenance
- Air System/Brakes
- Allison Automatic Transmissions
- Transmission Maintenance
- Ambulance & Fire Apparatus Electrical Systems
- Ambulance Design & Performance
- Apparatus Electrical Theory
- Battery Conditioners and Air Pumps
- Brakes Disc/Drum and Inspections
- Data Link Diagnostics
- Elkhart Valves and Nozzles Rebuild
- Fire Apparatus Design and Performance
- Fire Pumps and Accessories
- Foam and CAFS
- Hydraulic Systems
- Maintenance, Inspection and Testing
- Onan Hydraulic Generators
- Roll-up Doors
- SKF Lubrication Systems/Onspot Chains
- Steering and Suspension
Trac-3
- Cummins Electronics Troubleshooting
- Command Light Troubleshooting
- Drive Train
- Multiplexing system Troubleshooting
- Tires and Handling
- U.L. Fire Pump Test
- Hale Pump Rebuilding
- Wheel End Maintenance
Each evening after dinner, additional programs were provided. On Sunday, Attorney Jim Juneau presented a program: “Staying on the Legal Side” for the technicians. One of the comments that I heard about the program was that it was a real “eye-opener” about the liability associated with being a fire apparatus mechanic.
Monday evening w