BY BILL ADAMS

Mike Mikoola’s business affiliation with the Oshkosh Corporation started 50 years ago—about the same time Oshkosh developed a working relationship with Pierce Manufacturing Company.

The links between Oshkosh and Pierce, between Mikoola and Oshkosh, and between Mikoola and Pierce are explained to provide clarity to the Global story. Seemingly separate paths at first, the three links are parallel in nature, coalescing in 2001 when Mikoola purchased an Illinois company called Global Emergency Products. Today, Global is the authorized dealer for Pierce fire apparatus in Illinois and Indiana. This article describes Global’s journey.

OSHKOSH AND PIERCE

Oshkosh’s roots can be traced back to 1917 when the company was expressly formed to manufacture heavy-duty four-wheel-drive trucks. It still does today. Within today’s municipal fire service, the Oshkosh corporation is predominantly known as the parent company of Pierce. Oshkosh’s actual entry into building fire apparatus started in 1953 when it delivered an aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) rig to the United States Coast Guard.

Oshkosh and Pierce had a dual working relationship that started back in the 1970s. According to Tom Shand, a well-known source of fire apparatus history, Oshkosh developed a low-profile cab and chassis that Pierce used extensively to mount articulating boom aerial devices (aka snorkels) to keep the rigs’ overall height low. He also mentioned that Oshkosh was one of the outside vendors that supplied the running gear for the Arrow cab when it was first introduced. From Larry Shapiro’s book, Pumpers—Workhorse Fire Engines, “Built on a chassis that was originally constructed by Oshkosh, the Pierce Arrow designation referred to both the body and the cab. It became extremely popular.” It remains so. Pierce started building the complete Arrow chassis in-house in the early 1980s. Oshkosh purchased Pierce in 1996, cementing their established business association with each other.

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Ambulance Innovations

Posted: Nov 1, 2018

Ambulance Innovations

BY ALAN M. PETRILLO

Ambulance manufacturers are responding to customer requests for specific innovations in terms of designs and equipment, both inside and outside of an ambulance’s patient box. In addition, makers are coming up with innovative ideas of their own to increase the safety and efficiency of the working crew as well as the patient.

PL CUSTOM

Chad Newsome, national sales manager for PL Custom Body and Equipment Co. Inc., says PL Custom has been focused on meeting the requirements in Change Notice 10 (July 2017) to the Federal Specification for Star-of-Life Ambulances (KKK-A 1822(F). The Change Notice dealt with three areas, he says: ambulance modular body evaluation, interior cabinet integrity, and patient compartment structural integrity. “With our Medic in Mind design, we want to keep the crew seated and belted and all switches and equipment close at hand so the medic doesn’t have to get up and move around,” Newsome points out.

1 The Medic in Mind design by PL Custom Body and Equipment Co. Inc. has radiused countertops and cabinet corners, no lip counter for monitors, a USSC Valor seatback, and storage in easy reach for medics without unbuckling. (Photos 1-3 courtesy of PL Custom Body and Equipment Co. Inc.) 2 PL Custom’s full-height side-entry door (curbside) for easier entrance and egress. 3 By recessing portable oxygen tanks in an ambulance’s side entry step well, PL Custom eliminates a step hazard.

Newsome notes that PL Custom forms its countertops from a Corian-type material with radiused edges to mitigate any sharp points, and its interior cabinets are cut on a 45-degree angle so they don’t offer any strike points. “We also have been coating the back side of cabinets, the wheel wells inside the box, and the step wells with AudioGuard, a sound-deadening material,” he says. “We are making the inside of the truck very quiet because we want the crew to not be distracted by noise and be able to clearly hear any patient conversation.”

BRAUN INDUSTRIES

Chad Brown, vice president of sales and marketing for Braun Industries Inc., says Braun’s recent ambulanc

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Ambulance Innovations

Posted: Nov 1, 2018

Ambulance Innovations

BY ALAN M. PETRILLO

Ambulance manufacturers are responding to customer requests for specific innovations in terms of designs and equipment, both inside and outside of an ambulance’s patient box. In addition, makers are coming up with innovative ideas of their own to increase the safety and efficiency of the working crew as well as the patient.

PL CUSTOM

Chad Newsome, national sales manager for PL Custom Body and Equipment Co. Inc., says PL Custom has been focused on meeting the requirements in Change Notice 10 (July 2017) to the Federal Specification for Star-of-Life Ambulances (KKK-A 1822(F). The Change Notice dealt with three areas, he says: ambulance modular body evaluation, interior cabinet integrity, and patient compartment structural integrity. “With our Medic in Mind design, we want to keep the crew seated and belted and all switches and equipment close at hand so the medic doesn’t have to get up and move around,” Newsome points out.

1 The Medic in Mind design by PL Custom Body and Equipment Co. Inc. has radiused countertops and cabinet corners, no lip counter for monitors, a USSC Valor seatback, and storage in easy reach for medics without unbuckling. (Photos 1-3 courtesy of PL Custom Body and Equipment Co. Inc.) 2 PL Custom’s full-height side-entry door (curbside) for easier entrance and egress. 3 By recessing portable oxygen tanks in an ambulance’s side entry step well, PL Custom eliminates a step hazard.

Newsome notes that PL Custom forms its countertops from a Corian-type material with radiused edges to mitigate any sharp points, and its interior cabinets are cut on a 45-degree angle so they don’t offer any strike points. “We also have been coating the back side of cabinets, the wheel wells inside the box, and the step wells with AudioGuard, a sound-deadening material,” he says. “We are making the inside of the truck very quiet because we want the crew to not be distracted by noise and be able to clearly hear any patient conversation.”

BRAUN INDUSTRIES

Chad Brown, vice president of sales and marketing for Braun Industries Inc., says Braun’s recent ambulanc

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New St. Louis Fire Truck Hit By Distracted Driver On I-55, Firefighters Say

Posted: Nov 1, 2018

New St. Louis Fire Truck Hit By Distracted Driver On I-55, Firefighters Say

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The $750,000 truck is one of the newest in the fleet, firefighters said.

Read more at St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The $750,000 truck is one of the newest in the fleet, firefighters said. Voters recently passed a measure funding new fire trucks. It wasn't immediately clear whether the driver was charged. The fire department tweeted about the crash, saying: "Anything that distracts you from safely operating your vehicle can wait #texting #itcanwait.

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3 Firefighters Taken To The Hospital After Fire Truck Crashes In PG County (MD) Officials Say

Posted: Nov 1, 2018

3 Firefighters Taken To The Hospital After Fire Truck Crashes In PG County (MD) Officials Say

wjla.com

Three firefighters were taken to the hospital after a fire truck and a van crashed into each other Wednesday morning in Prince George's County. The Prince George's County Fire Department said one of their fire engines and a civilian work van collided at Forbes Boulevard and Annapolis Road in Lanham.

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The Prince George's County Fire Department said one of their fire engines and a civilian work van collided at Forbes Boulevard and Annapolis Road in Lanham.  

Fire officials said no civilians were hurt and the firefighters were taken to the hospital for evaluation and a check-up.

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