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Posted: Nov 1, 2018

You Have A Truck Just for That? Two of Them Actually!

That’s usually what I say when answering questions about the Eden Prairie (MN) Fire Department’s “RAMP” trucks. In reality, the name serves two purposes: first being the basic concept that our department purposely remodeled two brush trucks to operate as parking ramp response vehicles, and second, that they do much more than just that. They are “Rapid Attack Multiple Purpose” units, hence RAMP.

In roughly 2014, the department realized a need to up its game in battling vehicle fires on parking ramps. At that time, a large business complex was building several new ramps, adding to the large number of elevated parking structures already within the city. The largest ramp, a bus station, was planning to double in size within the next few years as well.

The Eden Prairie (MN) Fire Department repurposed two brush trucks on Ford F-350 chassis as their Rapid Attack Multiple Purpose (RAMP) units. Primarily used for parking ramp fires, the units are also used for brush fires. (Photos by author.)

1 The Eden Prairie (MN) Fire Department repurposed two brush trucks on Ford F-350 chassis as their Rapid Attack Multiple Purpose (RAMP) units. Primarily used for parking ramp fires, the units are also used for brush fires. (Photos by author.)

The department took action to develop what it has come to know as its RAMP trucks. Initially, the plan was to use the department’s funds to custom build a brand new unit. However, with the staffing structure Eden Prairie operates under, that would leave the unit off duty at certain times of the day. Therefore, the department decided to repurpose two brush trucks.

REPURPOSED BRUSH TRUCKS

Both trucks were nearly identical early 2000 model Ford F-350 two-door, long-box pickups, each equipped with CustomFIRE drop-in skid units and sporting a 250-gallon water tank, pump, two reel lines, and an 1¾-inch preconnect.

The skid units were sold, and the trucks’ light bars were removed. FireSafetyUSA was contracted to build conceptual replacement packages. The design consisted of some basic mini pumper essentials with the explicit limitation that the cargo area not be higher than the cab roof. Tank, pump, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), tool storage, hosebed, and a preconnected handline were included with the bid, all of which needed to be accomplished without removing or modifying the truck box.

Tank, pump, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), tool storage, hosebed, and a preconnected handline all needed to be stored without removing or modifying the truck box.
Each RAMP vehicle includes a bumper-mounted turret with a joystick inside the cab to control them.

2 Tank, pump, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), tool storage, hosebed, and a preconnected handline all needed to b

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Posted: Nov 1, 2018

Reel Use on Apparatus and in Stations


A wide variety of reels can be found on nearly every kind of fire apparatus, from rescue trucks and pumpers to ARFF vehicles, wildland trucks, and utility terrain vehicles (UTVs). Reels also have found popularity in several applications inside fire stations, whether it be for electric power, hydraulics, water, or hose.

Water Hose Reels

Jennifer Wing, marketing manager for Hannay Reels, says Hannay makes reels for every type of fire operation, with fire hose reels being used for flat, booster, and foam hose as well as large-diameter hose (LDH) and other models for breathing air, utility air, hydraulic, and electric uses. “We offer reels as compact as possible, depending on the length of hose it is to hold and where the truck builder wants to put it on the vehicle,” Wing says. “We are seeing an uptick in booster hose use and a growing number of reels being used on UTVs, pickup trucks, and all-terrain vehicles that are varying in width and height, depending on the space available, but almost all using booster hose.”

Hannay Reels made this F4000 series reel for one-inch booster line hose for the Rising Sun (IN) Volunteer Fire Department. (Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Hannay Reels and RKO Enterprises.)
This 1800 Series reel is shown with one-inch booster line secured in the bed of a pickup truck.

1 Hannay Reels made this F4000 series reel for one-inch booster line hose for the Rising Sun (IN) Volunteer Fire Department. (Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Hannay Reels and RKO Enterprises.) 2 This 1800 Series reel is shown with one-inch booster line secured in the bed of a pickup truck.

Wing notes that Hannay makes four series of reels for large- and small-diameter booster hose, the 1800, F4000, F, and FF Series, which can be found on pumpers tankers, rescue trucks, and wildland vehicles. The 1800 Series handles 5⁄8-inch or 3⁄4-inch inside-diameter (ID) hose; the F4000 Series handles 3⁄4-inch or one-inch ID hose; the F Series carries 3⁄4-inch or one-inch ID booster hose; and the FF Series handles 11⁄4-inch or 11⁄2-inch ID booster hose or 11⁄2-inch or 13⁄4-inch collapsible hose.

“We also make large frame and collapsible LDH hose reels on the back of vehicles,” she points out, “and the F7100 dual-agent hose reel and a small portable reel for one-inch forestry lay flat or standard lay flat hose.”

Jerry Medley, vice president of sales and marketing for Cox Reels, says motorized booster reels are the most popular use of reels on pumpers, tankers, and wildland vehicles. “We will make the reel with a different type of roller bracket, depending on where the reel is to be mounted,” Medley says. “Our 1600 Series reel is specifically designed to fit into different types of fire apparatus, and we are able to change the size of the discs and the drum to handle the size hose to be carried.”

The Westerlo (NY) Fire Department has Hannay booster line and hydraulic hos
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Posted: Nov 1, 2018

Reel Use on Apparatus and in Stations


A wide variety of reels can be found on nearly every kind of fire apparatus, from rescue trucks and pumpers to ARFF vehicles, wildland trucks, and utility terrain vehicles (UTVs). Reels also have found popularity in several applications inside fire stations, whether it be for electric power, hydraulics, water, or hose.

Water Hose Reels

Jennifer Wing, marketing manager for Hannay Reels, says Hannay makes reels for every type of fire operation, with fire hose reels being used for flat, booster, and foam hose as well as large-diameter hose (LDH) and other models for breathing air, utility air, hydraulic, and electric uses. “We offer reels as compact as possible, depending on the length of hose it is to hold and where the truck builder wants to put it on the vehicle,” Wing says. “We are seeing an uptick in booster hose use and a growing number of reels being used on UTVs, pickup trucks, and all-terrain vehicles that are varying in width and height, depending on the space available, but almost all using booster hose.”

Hannay Reels made this F4000 series reel for one-inch booster line hose for the Rising Sun (IN) Volunteer Fire Department. (Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Hannay Reels and RKO Enterprises.)
This 1800 Series reel is shown with one-inch booster line secured in the bed of a pickup truck.

1 Hannay Reels made this F4000 series reel for one-inch booster line hose for the Rising Sun (IN) Volunteer Fire Department. (Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Hannay Reels and RKO Enterprises.) 2 This 1800 Series reel is shown with one-inch booster line secured in the bed of a pickup truck.

Wing notes that Hannay makes four series of reels for large- and small-diameter booster hose, the 1800, F4000, F, and FF Series, which can be found on pumpers tankers, rescue trucks, and wildland vehicles. The 1800 Series handles 5⁄8-inch or 3⁄4-inch inside-diameter (ID) hose; the F4000 Series handles 3⁄4-inch or one-inch ID hose; the F Series carries 3⁄4-inch or one-inch ID booster hose; and the FF Series handles 11⁄4-inch or 11⁄2-inch ID booster hose or 11⁄2-inch or 13⁄4-inch collapsible hose.

“We also make large frame and collapsible LDH hose reels on the back of vehicles,” she points out, “and the F7100 dual-agent hose reel and a small portable reel for one-inch forestry lay flat or standard lay flat hose.”

Jerry Medley, vice president of sales and marketing for Cox Reels, says motorized booster reels are the most popular use of reels on pumpers, tankers, and wildland vehicles. “We will make the reel with a different type of roller bracket, depending on where the reel is to be mounted,” Medley says. “Our 1600 Series reel is specifically designed to fit into different types of fire apparatus, and we are able to change the size of the discs and the drum to handle the size hose to be carried.”

The Westerlo (NY) Fire Department has Hannay booster line and hydraulic hos
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Posted: Nov 1, 2018

Platform Secures Footing for Roofwork


One of the signs I knew it was time to retire was my inability to confidently balance myself on a pitched roof. As a truck captain, my job was to supervise the rooftop ventilation operation.

I tried to be the first or second firefighter up on the roof with the thermal imaging camera to identify the best place to cut the ventilation hole, then I got out of the way so my crew could make the roof cuts. Nevertheless, I still found myself burying my pickhead ax into the roof decking just so I could have something to hold onto because I didn’t want to fall. On one of my last fires where we ended up on the roof in the middle of the night, not only did I bury my pickhead ax into the roof, but I also used my bailout hook and rope, found another anchor point, and used my rope as a tether so I had a second point of contact to hold onto. I realized after 37 years on the job that I was no longer a Billy goat. When you’re more concerned about falling off the roof than opening it, it’s probably time to get off the truck.

1 The R.O.S. is a working platform that attaches to any standard aluminum roof ladder. It is made of ¼-inch aluminum diamond plate and is 48 inches long, 11 inches wide, and five inches thick. It nestles inline inside the roof ladder between the rungs and the beams. You carry and set in place the roof ladder as normal until you need the R.O.S. Platform. (Photos 1-4 by author.)

According to Don Abbott’s Project Mayday, the number-one reason firefighters call a Mayday is from falling into a basement. Number two is falling through a roof. Most Maydays occur around the 20-minute mark of the incident. In fact, at the time of this writing in my own department, a Seattle firefighter fell through a roof into the attic space after the vertical ventilation evolution. The engine crew managed to get a hoseline into the burning attic and knocked down the fire just seconds before the firefighter fell through the roof. He was very lucky and fortunately sustained only minor injuries. The incident happened in the first 20 minutes of the house fire.

These statistics have prompted numerous inventors, many of whom are active firefighters, to look for solutions to these problems. Lieutenants Bill McCarthy and Derron Suchodolski are career firefighters with the Saginaw (MI) Fire Department. They invented the Roof Operations Safety (R.O.S.) Platform and formed the company Practical Fire Equipment, LLC.

2 The R.O.S. is turned perpendicular to the roof ladder and reattached to

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Posted: Nov 1, 2018

Platform Secures Footing for Roofwork


One of the signs I knew it was time to retire was my inability to confidently balance myself on a pitched roof. As a truck captain, my job was to supervise the rooftop ventilation operation.

I tried to be the first or second firefighter up on the roof with the thermal imaging camera to identify the best place to cut the ventilation hole, then I got out of the way so my crew could make the roof cuts. Nevertheless, I still found myself burying my pickhead ax into the roof decking just so I could have something to hold onto because I didn’t want to fall. On one of my last fires where we ended up on the roof in the middle of the night, not only did I bury my pickhead ax into the roof, but I also used my bailout hook and rope, found another anchor point, and used my rope as a tether so I had a second point of contact to hold onto. I realized after 37 years on the job that I was no longer a Billy goat. When you’re more concerned about falling off the roof than opening it, it’s probably time to get off the truck.

1 The R.O.S. is a working platform that attaches to any standard aluminum roof ladder. It is made of ¼-inch aluminum diamond plate and is 48 inches long, 11 inches wide, and five inches thick. It nestles inline inside the roof ladder between the rungs and the beams. You carry and set in place the roof ladder as normal until you need the R.O.S. Platform. (Photos 1-4 by author.)

According to Don Abbott’s Project Mayday, the number-one reason firefighters call a Mayday is from falling into a basement. Number two is falling through a roof. Most Maydays occur around the 20-minute mark of the incident. In fact, at the time of this writing in my own department, a Seattle firefighter fell through a roof into the attic space after the vertical ventilation evolution. The engine crew managed to get a hoseline into the burning attic and knocked down the fire just seconds before the firefighter fell through the roof. He was very lucky and fortunately sustained only minor injuries. The incident happened in the first 20 minutes of the house fire.

These statistics have prompted numerous inventors, many of whom are active firefighters, to look for solutions to these problems. Lieutenants Bill McCarthy and Derron Suchodolski are career firefighters with the Saginaw (MI) Fire Department. They invented the Roof Operations Safety (R.O.S.) Platform and formed the company Practical Fire Equipment, LLC.

2 The R.O.S. is turned perpendicular to the roof ladder and reattached to

Read more
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