By Alan M. Petrillo
Technical rescue vehicles run the gamut from medium to heavy rescue trucks to trailers of all sizes, in both walk-in and walk-around styles.
With such vehicles, manufacturers say the kinds of technical rescues they are building for departments most often revolve around the types of specialized technical rescue equipment they are carrying and the missions for which the vehicles are likely to be used.
Multiple Disciplines
Mike Mildner, rescue sales specialist for E-ONE, says that often a technical rescue truck might have more than a half dozen disciplines reflected in the equipment it carries. “We are building a heavy rescue for the Buffalo (NY) Fire Department that will handle all types of rescues citywide,” Mildner says, “including collapse, trench rescue, confined space, and others. Our experience has been that every rescue we build incorporates some form of technical rescue in it, which might be dive gear, cold water suits, and swift water rescue equipment if the department is near the water, or sometimes the vehicle is the rapid intervention team truck.”
1 E-ONE built this walk-in technical rescue on a single rear axle for the Millsboro (DE) Fire Company. (Photo courtesy of E-ONE.)
Bob Sorensen, vice president of sales for SVI Trucks, says SVI recently built a new technical rescue urban search and rescue (USAR) truck for the Santa Monica (CA) Fire Department. “We built their USAR truck in 2001 on a dual-rear-axle chassis based on the amount of equipment they wanted to carry,” Sorensen says. “They took the old truck out of service and drove it out to Colorado to sit with our guys and map out where the equipment would go on the new one. We had to reconfigure some trays and shelves because they wanted the truck configured to deal with mass casualty situations.”
Mike Marquis, vice president of national sales for Rescue 1, says his company built a technical rescue truck for the Agawam (MA) Fire Department that is focused on water rescue. “It carries a boat on top of the rescue and is used for swift water rescue and rescues in rivers and the bay,” Marquis says. “The boat motor is secured in a compartment, and the others hold life vests, throw ropes, and other specialized water rescue gear.”
Trapper Meadors, sales engineer for Precision Fire Apparatus, says Precision has built technical rescues that combine several rescue disciplines on a custom chassis, most often with walk-around bodies. “Most of them have been single rear axle units with walkways on top of the body to access coffin compartments for storage,” Meadors says. “We built one with a command area in the crew cab, but most of them are big cab trucks set up for crews of up to eight firefighters.”
Joe Messmer, president of Summit Fire Apparatus, thinks that the economy and staffing issues have had an effect on the purchasing and building of large technical rescue trucks. “You’re seeing more agencies that operate regionally having the need for technical or specialty rescues,” Sorensen points out. “At the fire department level, we are seeing more traditional rescues having specialized technical rescue elements built into them.”
Posted: Feb 19, 2018
Apparatus: the shops Christian P. Koop
Preventive maintenance (PM) for emergency response vehicles (ERVs) has always been an extremely important subject, particularly if a department or agency expects to operate ERVs that are reliable and durable and wants the units to make it to their expected lifetimes without catastrophic or costly failures.
Not having a good PM program can wreak havoc on the department’s budget. I know from experience that many departments or users get this; others, in the face of tight budgets, think this is the place to cut costs. In the latter, nothing could be further from the truth, and, in fact, those who cut down or take shortcuts in PM to reduce expenditures will find out that it will actually be more costly in the long run and will expose them to greater liability.
A failure that causes an accident that takes lives or a response time that was lengthened because of a breakdown can result in lawsuits that can be very costly. The authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) can be held responsible and needs to ensure PM is being carried out according to standards and is adequate. There are agencies that think oil and filter changes are preventive maintenance. All this practice will accomplish is shortening ERV life and reducing reliability and durability. For those who have not kept up with the latest National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards for ERVs, it would behoove them to review the latest revision of NFPA 1911, Standard for the Inspection, Maintenance, Testing, and Retirement of In-Service Emergency Vehicles, because it has gotten more stringent, particularly for items that will place equipment out of service.
Setting Up the Program
Setting up an adequate PM program for an ERV fleet or just upgrading an existing one to meet standards and a fleet’s changing needs is not that difficult. Most ERV original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) generally provide inspection and service forms at the time of sale or can provide them readily if you contact them. They can also provide driver and technician training, which many departments include in their specifications. NFPA 1911 has various sample PM inspection templates that can be used as is or modified to meet service needs dictated by local ambient temperature, terrain, altitude, and climate that can adversely affect the ERV fleet operation. Regularly inspecting and testing safety items such as brakes, steering systems, emergency lighting, and aerial devices is not only critical—it is required by NFPA 1911.
The driver’s daily inspection is also very important, and AHJs need to ensure these inspections are being conducted correctly and are not pencil whipped. Keep in mind that NFPA 1911 requires that these inspections and records be kept. Drivers’ daily inspections are, in essence, a very important component of the PM program. Statistically, well-trained, conscientious drivers can find 30 percent of problems before they become more costly to repair or cause a breakdown.
PM Scheduling
There are essentially four ways to schedule ERVs for PM. The most common is by mileage; however, calendar days are also used. Using elapsed engine hours is another method. Probably the most effective is scheduling by measuring fuel consumption. These can also be blended together. For example, we used a combination of hours and m
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Posted: Feb 19, 2018
Apparatus: the shops Christian P. Koop
Preventive maintenance (PM) for emergency response vehicles (ERVs) has always been an extremely important subject, particularly if a department or agency expects to operate ERVs that are reliable and durable and wants the units to make it to their expected lifetimes without catastrophic or costly failures.
Not having a good PM program can wreak havoc on the department’s budget. I know from experience that many departments or users get this; others, in the face of tight budgets, think this is the place to cut costs. In the latter, nothing could be further from the truth, and, in fact, those who cut down or take shortcuts in PM to reduce expenditures will find out that it will actually be more costly in the long run and will expose them to greater liability.
A failure that causes an accident that takes lives or a response time that was lengthened because of a breakdown can result in lawsuits that can be very costly. The authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) can be held responsible and needs to ensure PM is being carried out according to standards and is adequate. There are agencies that think oil and filter changes are preventive maintenance. All this practice will accomplish is shortening ERV life and reducing reliability and durability. For those who have not kept up with the latest National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards for ERVs, it would behoove them to review the latest revision of NFPA 1911, Standard for the Inspection, Maintenance, Testing, and Retirement of In-Service Emergency Vehicles, because it has gotten more stringent, particularly for items that will place equipment out of service.
Setting Up the Program
Setting up an adequate PM program for an ERV fleet or just upgrading an existing one to meet standards and a fleet’s changing needs is not that difficult. Most ERV original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) generally provide inspection and service forms at the time of sale or can provide them readily if you contact them. They can also provide driver and technician training, which many departments include in their specifications. NFPA 1911 has various sample PM inspection templates that can be used as is or modified to meet service needs dictated by local ambient temperature, terrain, altitude, and climate that can adversely affect the ERV fleet operation. Regularly inspecting and testing safety items such as brakes, steering systems, emergency lighting, and aerial devices is not only critical—it is required by NFPA 1911.
The driver’s daily inspection is also very important, and AHJs need to ensure these inspections are being conducted correctly and are not pencil whipped. Keep in mind that NFPA 1911 requires that these inspections and records be kept. Drivers’ daily inspections are, in essence, a very important component of the PM program. Statistically, well-trained, conscientious drivers can find 30 percent of problems before they become more costly to repair or cause a breakdown.
PM Scheduling
There are essentially four ways to schedule ERVs for PM. The most common is by mileage; however, calendar days are also used. Using elapsed engine hours is another method. Probably the most effective is scheduling by measuring fuel consumption. These can also be blended together. For example, we used a combination of hours and m
Read more
- 265
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Posted: Feb 19, 2018
Apparatus: the shops Christian P. Koop
Preventive maintenance (PM) for emergency response vehicles (ERVs) has always been an extremely important subject, particularly if a department or agency expects to operate ERVs that are reliable and durable and wants the units to make it to their expected lifetimes without catastrophic or costly failures.
Not having a good PM program can wreak havoc on the department’s budget. I know from experience that many departments or users get this; others, in the face of tight budgets, think this is the place to cut costs. In the latter, nothing could be further from the truth, and, in fact, those who cut down or take shortcuts in PM to reduce expenditures will find out that it will actually be more costly in the long run and will expose them to greater liability.
A failure that causes an accident that takes lives or a response time that was lengthened because of a breakdown can result in lawsuits that can be very costly. The authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) can be held responsible and needs to ensure PM is being carried out according to standards and is adequate. There are agencies that think oil and filter changes are preventive maintenance. All this practice will accomplish is shortening ERV life and reducing reliability and durability. For those who have not kept up with the latest National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards for ERVs, it would behoove them to review the latest revision of NFPA 1911, Standard for the Inspection, Maintenance, Testing, and Retirement of In-Service Emergency Vehicles, because it has gotten more stringent, particularly for items that will place equipment out of service.
Setting Up the Program
Setting up an adequate PM program for an ERV fleet or just upgrading an existing one to meet standards and a fleet’s changing needs is not that difficult. Most ERV original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) generally provide inspection and service forms at the time of sale or can provide them readily if you contact them. They can also provide driver and technician training, which many departments include in their specifications. NFPA 1911 has various sample PM inspection templates that can be used as is or modified to meet service needs dictated by local ambient temperature, terrain, altitude, and climate that can adversely affect the ERV fleet operation. Regularly inspecting and testing safety items such as brakes, steering systems, emergency lighting, and aerial devices is not only critical—it is required by NFPA 1911.
The driver’s daily inspection is also very important, and AHJs need to ensure these inspections are being conducted correctly and are not pencil whipped. Keep in mind that NFPA 1911 requires that these inspections and records be kept. Drivers’ daily inspections are, in essence, a very important component of the PM program. Statistically, well-trained, conscientious drivers can find 30 percent of problems before they become more costly to repair or cause a breakdown.
PM Scheduling
There are essentially four ways to schedule ERVs for PM. The most common is by mileage; however, calendar days are also used. Using elapsed engine hours is another method. Probably the most effective is scheduling by measuring fuel consumption. These can also be blended together. For example, we used a combination of hours and m
Read more
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Posted: Feb 19, 2018
FA Viewpoints
Editor’s Note: Asking about midmount vs. rear-mount aerials can often create passionate debates. However, deciding on which to purchase should be based on the tactics you wish to achieve and the unique characteristics of your first due and surrounding areas. This month, we asked Editorial Advisory Board members Bill Adams and Ricky Riley to comment on midmount and rear-mount aerials.
Asking if you prefer a rear-mount or a midmount aerial ladder is another loaded question. Stating a preference could subject you to ridicule, scorn, and possibly hate mail from biased opinions in firehouses running the other. “Truckers” can be a biased and vocal lot. An objective answer should be based on the physical characteristics of a response district and how well each type of aerial performs in it. I had the opportunity to operate a midmount and then a rear-mount in the same volunteer department over a span of almost 40 years. The majority of the residential areas had very narrow streets with on-street parking, telephone poles, overhead wires, and overhead service lines (cable, telephone, and electrical) to each house. House lots were 40 feet wide, usually with a tree in the front yard and a two-story or 2½-story wood frame set close to the road and closer to each other. Both the ladder trucks were quints; however, they were not used for initial attack. They responded second out after the first-due engine. Laying hose and pulling preconnects wasn’t a prime function. Hence, my observations are from using each as a real ladder truck in the same response area.
The Rigs
The first ladder was a single-axle 85-foot midmount with a semicab (doors but no roof). Standard operating procedure called for the first-due engine to pull one house beyond to leave room for the ladder truck. That gave sufficient room if the turntable had to be set on the A/B corner to sweep those two sides. If the house was on the side of the street with the telephone poles and overhead wires, it was a general rule of thumb that if you could position the turntable beneath the wires, you could hit the roof with the stick.
The replacement ladder was a tandem-axle 110-foot rear-mount with an enclosed canopy cab with open jump seats. An anticipated operational difference was the rear-mount’s overall height being about a foot and a half higher than the midmount, which limited its use on many houses because of the overhead obstructions. Known before the purchase was made, it was offset by specifying double side stacked ground ladders (a 35-foot two-section extension ladder, a 28-foot two-section extension ladder, and a 16-foot roof ladder on each side). There was a 50/50 chance of not being able to use the stick on residential calls. Sometimes it took jockeying the rig to do it—not easily done on narrow streets where there was seldom room for one rig to pass another.
On the Fireground
After the rear-mount’s delivery, a major fireground issue became the placement of the first-due engine. Pulling one house lot beyond didn’t always work. The rear-mount is about 43 feet long. When positioning its turntable on the A/B corner, the rig took up the entire house lot beyond the structure. Consequently, the first-due engine had to pull two houses beyond. It is important to note tha
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