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Posted: Feb 9, 2018

Whale Pass fire engine needs new home - KRBD

The fire engine was donated to Whale Pass by the Hollis Fire Department several years ago. Huestis said it is available for free to any city or organization on POW, or elsewhere, if someone is willing to pay shipping. He said the 26-foot truck was built in the 1970s and was little used.

“It’s diesel. It’s been stored under cover, in the dry, for as long as we’ve had it, and I’m sure for as long as Hollis Fire Department had it,” he said. “So it’s in really good shape and it has a lot of neat features to it. It’s got a water cannon. I’m not sure if that’s something that most people in remote Alaska would use, but it’s a neat little feature.”

Huestis said the Whale Pass Volunteer Fire Department has two smaller fire trucks that serve the community. He said there are very few fires, but fires do happen. Huestis said Whale Pass has a population of about 90, with houses spread out over four miles.

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Posted: Feb 9, 2018

Fort Washington (PA) Substation Renovation and Expansion

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Posted: Feb 9, 2018

Fort Washington (PA) Fire Company Has GKO Architects Renovate Its Substation

By Alan M. Petrillo

The Fort Washington (PA) Fire Company is the primary provider of fire and rescue services for Upper Dublin Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, an area of more than 13 square miles and a population of approximately 26,000 people. The fire company operates out of two fire stations, Station 88-A, constructed in 2012 with five double-deep drive-through apparatus bays, eight individual bunkrooms, a fitness room, offices, and training facilities. Station 88-B, called the Burn Brae station, was built in 1974 and needed a major renovation to upgrade it to modern standards.

"Very little had been done to Station 88-B over the years after it was built," says Eric Clauson, Fort Washington’s chief. "It was a dated building with three apparatus bays, a radio room, a small office, a large recreation room, and a small engineer shop at the back. The township wanted to bring the building up to modern standards, so GKO Architects was hired to review what needed to be done, to listen to what we wanted, and to handle the renovation."

Kevin Godshall, principal architect at GKO Architects, says his firm had a number of meetings at the fire department to determine what could be done with the structure, a flat-roofed masonry building. "When the renovation design was finalized, we didn't have to make any changes to the exterior of the structure, except for replacing the windows, and upgrading the exterior lighting," Godshall says. "The masonry walls stayed intact, but the stucco and brickwork was touched up. And, the new addition of a fourth apparatus bay was placed on the side of the building facing the main road, giving the structure a new face."

Clauson points out that Fort Washington Fire Company is taxpayer-funded for its facilities, equipment, apparatus, and turnout gear. "We have this partnership with the township where they handled the finances and we handled the design of the renovated station," he says. "After our main station was built in 2012, we knew that Station 88-B needed substantial upgrading, and the township came up with $2 million for the project that included upgrading all mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems as well as storm sewer upgrades and water runoff systems."

Godshall says that GKO Architects designed a new apparatus bay that can accommodate an aerial ladder if needed, but is not a drive-through bay because of site plan issues behind the station. "We added a diesel exhaust extraction system to all the bays," he says. "In the living spaces, we repurposed and expanded the station's two bathrooms by adding showers and making the bathrooms ADA-accessible."

Clauson says that GKO Architects combined the station's existing radio room and small office into one large room, and took the large engineer's shop and split it in two for an engineer's shop as well as a clean room to handle turnout gear washing and drying, and an SCBAcompressor. "The biggest change was in our old recreation room," he notes. "Instead of one large room with a small kitchenette, they subdivided it into a television room, a kitchen with full-sized appliances, and five individual bunk rooms with lockers. Two of the dorm rooms have bunk beds, while the other three have single beds. Each has a small desk in the room."

Fort Washington Fire Company has 130 volunteer firefighters with approximately 70 of them active. The fire company runs two engines, two rescue-pumpers, one aerial platform, a rescue truck, a support vehicle, and four inflatable boats to deal w

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Posted: Feb 9, 2018

Petzl Launches RopeTrip Series in North America

Guy on ropes hanging upside down

Petzl, the leader in solution-based verticality and lighting equipment, will host the North American event in the 2018 RopeTrip Series at the state-of-the-art Petzl Technical Institute (PTI), February 12-16, 2018. The event includes a rope access competition, symposium and optional training courses — all demonstrating Petzl’s leadership in and commitment to serving a wide range of work-at-height and fall-safety protection markets.  

The Petzl RopeTrip competition brings together professional rope-access technicians for a unique event where participants vie against one another in a series of rope access challenges. Three-person teams must showcase their skill, problem solving abilities and efficiency while maintaining best practices and respect for safety to secure a place on the podium.

Rope technicians on a rope

The PTI-hosted symposium offers a full day of comprehensive and technical engagements that include “ANSI Z459 Rope Access Standard Review”, “Access Rigging” and “Rigging for Rescue vs. Rigging for Lower” given by Richard Delaney of RopeLab. Demonstrations include “Rope Access Equipment and Technical Application Testing” and “Rope Access Advanced Rescue Technique Validation.” Optional courses include “PPE Competent Person Course” and “Exploring the Physics Used by Roping Technicians.”

“The Petzl RopeTrip Series is a biennial event leading to the International RopeTrip event to be held in Duisburg, Germany on June 7-9th, 2018,” said Jon Rockefeller, North American marketing director for Petzl. “RopeTrip continues to attract prominent professionals and symposium speakers, providing them with unparalleled opportunities to share knowledge and best practices in a collaborative and educational environment.”

Guy climbing on a rope system

Petzl America will provide airfare for the highest ranking team from North America that can attend the Petzl RopeTrip International Challenge in Duisburg, Germany.

In 2014, Petzl opened the 15,000-square-foot technical training center at its North American headquarters to promote the proper application of technical skills. The facility features a 55-foot tall climbing wall with multi-pitch capability, more than 5,000 square feet of exposed structure climbing for tower rescue, and three classrooms capable of accommodating up to 200 people, among other features. PTI and team have held professional, diverse training courses including University of Utah Rescue Class, Adventure Park Rescue and Evacuation, Work at Height in Climbing Gyms, and Anchor Replacement. 

For more information, please visit petzlsolutions.com/ropetrip.

Guy outside a building hanging on a rope

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Posted: Feb 9, 2018

Ready Rack Wall Rack Organizer

The Ready Rack® Wall Rack Organizer was designed for the fire service to get items off the table or off the floor, offering better organization for smaller department items. This product was designed to outlast big box store hanging systems. It comes complete with five mop hangers and four hanging hooks. Also available for additional storage, to accompany the wall rack organizer, is Groves's Horizontal Top Shelf (below). Both are made from heavy-duty powder coated steel.

WRO: Wall Rack Organizer - 74.5” x 25.5”
WRO-TS: Wall Rack Organizer - L Horizontal Top Shelf - 73.5” x 17”

For more information, visit https://www.readyrack.com/product/wall-rack-organizer/.


 

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