Editor’s note: Pumps can be mounted and controlled from almost anywhere on a pumper. This month, Editorial Advisory Board members Bill Adams (left) and Ricky Riley (right) discuss whether they have a preference for the pump location on a pumper and, if so, what the operational reason for that preference is. Do you have a topic for FA Viewpoints? E-mail it to Chris Mc Loone (chrism@pennwell.com).

This viewpoint is addressed with biased personal opinion from a nontechnical perspective without substantiating data or corroborating documentation. Midship pumps are the most common. Rear pumps, my favorite, are not. Front-mounted pumps are only used for job-specific applications and are not addressed. Full-bodied manifolded (double suction) pumps and unmanifolded end suction (single-suction) pumps have different characteristics. Both are used in midship and rear applications. Apparatus or pump design engineers are the best resources for “which pump to use where.”

Except for operational requirements to draft at maximum capacity, a pump’s physical location is irrelevant. The closer a centrifugal pump impeller is to the water, the more efficient the pump will draft. Midship pumps drafting from auxiliary front or rear steamer suctions are not going to achieve maximum efficiency. Ask the apparatus and pump manufacturers or have salespeople substantiate claims with documentation. Requesting certified flow tests by an independent third party (i.e., Underwriters Laboratories) separates fact from fiction and ensures compliance. Add the requirement to purchasing specifications. Some purchasers are content to draft limited gallonage through front and rear steamers in scenarios where tanker relays may not sustain a pumper’s rated capacity. Just remember, you’re limited to that reduced flow from draft forever.

The location of end suction pumps is immaterial if always supplied from a pressurized water source. They usually terminate with a four-inch discharge that can be piped to wherever the discharge manifold or operator’s panel is desired and not necessarily in the same location. Some naysayers claim rear pumps “throw off the weight balance” on a pumper. Requesting certified weight certificates of delivered units will substantiate or disprove verbal claims. With today’s computer-generated weight and balance software programs, engineers can easily calculate weights for proposed units with pumps in alternative locations. Just ask.

Unfamiliarity and disinterest are possible reasons salespeople and manufacturers (OEMs) don’t promote rear pumps. Financial is another reason. If 95 percent of an OEM’s pumper production includes midship pumps, a rear or front mount in the assembly line could reduce efficiency and add labor hours, increasing cost. Having to fabricate a nontraditional body design could contribute to OEM angst toward the concept. From my limited exposure with them, I have found rear-mounted pumps allow shorter wheelbases with comparable compartmentation.

Midship and rear pumps can be powered by a split drive shaft arrangement in the chassis driveline or via power takeoffs (PTOs). Early PTO-driven volume pump installations were constrained by PTO “life expectancy” and horsepower limitations. Previous bad press, justified or not, is hard to overcome. Today, 1,500 gallon-per-minute pumps are regularly PTO powered. Skeptical? Ask vendors to explain continuous duty and heavy duty in PTO applications and if PTOs have to be replaced or tested after so many hours of actual usage. Europeans have been using rear pumps, albeit not high-volume, for eons. Critics claim they’re just another European fad. Other European “fads” include fully enclosed crew cabs, sexless couplings

By Alan M. Petrillo

Nozzles and monitors make up the forward tip of most fire suppression systems, whether they are on handlines, deck guns, or portable monitors or at the end of aerial ladders and platforms.

Recent improvements to existing versions and new models of nozzles and monitors offered by manufacturers are helping firefighters in engaging fire on both attack and defense.

Nozzles

1 Elkhart Brass introduced its XD (Extreme Duty) redesign of handline nozzles, starting with its Chief XD, shown here. (Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Elkhart Brass.)

Phil Gerace, vice president of marketing for Task Force Tips (TFT), says TFT’s Vortex™ nozzle is an improvement “on the age-old concept of the smoothbore nozzle to give firefighters more capability should they need it.” Gerace notes the Vortex has all the benefits of a smoothbore but with a quick twist of the tip can change to a dispersed water pattern. TFT offers a number of different diameters of smoothbore tips on the Vortex, Gerace says, “and the extra capability of a dispersed pattern is there when you need it and does not disturb the flow.”

Gerace says that TFT is introducing a new product, the Decon PRO/pak, a handheld portable system to be used to decontaminate turnout gear. “When firefighters come out of a burning structure, they have a lot of debris on their turnout gear,” he says. “Using the Decon PRO/pak, they can rinse off with a solution and a brush to get the debris off and help reduce the cancer risk.”

Chris Martin, manager of Elkhart Brass’s municipal product line, says his company is seeing a renaissance of engine company work, focusing on more accurate fire flows and attack packages and making sure that hoses match flow rates. “We are doing two major efforts to be a part of that movement,” he says, “one through our products and the other through education.”

2 The Magnum EXM is a high-flow monitor made by Elkhart Brass that is capable of 5,000 gpm.

On the product side of things, Martin notes that Elkhart Brass has introduced its XD (Extreme Duty) redesign of handline nozzles. “We started with the Chief nozzle and gave it a complete redo,” he says. “We went to an aluminum forged shutoff body and forged metal bail handle for maximum strength and beta tested the Chief XD with 30 of the busiest departments around the country. It’s now in full production and available in both high- and low-flow fog nozzles.”

The XD Smoothbore is another redesign by Elkhart Brass, using the same forged body and bail handle, Martin says. “The tip has been redesigned so the numbers are easier to read and have the flow rates on it,” he says. “One of our most popular combinations is the 7⁄8-inch smoothbore paired with a 160-gallon-per-minute (gpm) at 50 pounds per square inch (psi) fog nozzle.”

In addition, Elkhart Brass makes the RAM XD, which features a hydraulic stability system that harnesses reaction force to stabilize the monitor. It ha

By Alan M. Petrillo

Nozzles and monitors make up the forward tip of most fire suppression systems, whether they are on handlines, deck guns, or portable monitors or at the end of aerial ladders and platforms.

Recent improvements to existing versions and new models of nozzles and monitors offered by manufacturers are helping firefighters in engaging fire on both attack and defense.

Nozzles

1 Elkhart Brass introduced its XD (Extreme Duty) redesign of handline nozzles, starting with its Chief XD, shown here. (Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Elkhart Brass.)

Phil Gerace, vice president of marketing for Task Force Tips (TFT), says TFT’s Vortex™ nozzle is an improvement “on the age-old concept of the smoothbore nozzle to give firefighters more capability should they need it.” Gerace notes the Vortex has all the benefits of a smoothbore but with a quick twist of the tip can change to a dispersed water pattern. TFT offers a number of different diameters of smoothbore tips on the Vortex, Gerace says, “and the extra capability of a dispersed pattern is there when you need it and does not disturb the flow.”

Gerace says that TFT is introducing a new product, the Decon PRO/pak, a handheld portable system to be used to decontaminate turnout gear. “When firefighters come out of a burning structure, they have a lot of debris on their turnout gear,” he says. “Using the Decon PRO/pak, they can rinse off with a solution and a brush to get the debris off and help reduce the cancer risk.”

Chris Martin, manager of Elkhart Brass’s municipal product line, says his company is seeing a renaissance of engine company work, focusing on more accurate fire flows and attack packages and making sure that hoses match flow rates. “We are doing two major efforts to be a part of that movement,” he says, “one through our products and the other through education.”

2 The Magnum EXM is a high-flow monitor made by Elkhart Brass that is capable of 5,000 gpm.

On the product side of things, Martin notes that Elkhart Brass has introduced its XD (Extreme Duty) redesign of handline nozzles. “We started with the Chief nozzle and gave it a complete redo,” he says. “We went to an aluminum forged shutoff body and forged metal bail handle for maximum strength and beta tested the Chief XD with 30 of the busiest departments around the country. It’s now in full production and available in both high- and low-flow fog nozzles.”

The XD Smoothbore is another redesign by Elkhart Brass, using the same forged body and bail handle, Martin says. “The tip has been redesigned so the numbers are easier to read and have the flow rates on it,” he says. “One of our most popular combinations is the 7⁄8-inch smoothbore paired with a 160-gallon-per-minute (gpm) at 50 pounds per square inch (psi) fog nozzle.”

In addition, Elkhart Brass makes the RAM XD, which features a hydraulic stability system that harnesses reaction force to stabilize the monitor. It ha

By Alan M. Petrillo

Nozzles and monitors make up the forward tip of most fire suppression systems, whether they are on handlines, deck guns, or portable monitors or at the end of aerial ladders and platforms.

Recent improvements to existing versions and new models of nozzles and monitors offered by manufacturers are helping firefighters in engaging fire on both attack and defense.

Nozzles

1 Elkhart Brass introduced its XD (Extreme Duty) redesign of handline nozzles, starting with its Chief XD, shown here. (Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Elkhart Brass.)

Phil Gerace, vice president of marketing for Task Force Tips (TFT), says TFT’s Vortex™ nozzle is an improvement “on the age-old concept of the smoothbore nozzle to give firefighters more capability should they need it.” Gerace notes the Vortex has all the benefits of a smoothbore but with a quick twist of the tip can change to a dispersed water pattern. TFT offers a number of different diameters of smoothbore tips on the Vortex, Gerace says, “and the extra capability of a dispersed pattern is there when you need it and does not disturb the flow.”

Gerace says that TFT is introducing a new product, the Decon PRO/pak, a handheld portable system to be used to decontaminate turnout gear. “When firefighters come out of a burning structure, they have a lot of debris on their turnout gear,” he says. “Using the Decon PRO/pak, they can rinse off with a solution and a brush to get the debris off and help reduce the cancer risk.”

Chris Martin, manager of Elkhart Brass’s municipal product line, says his company is seeing a renaissance of engine company work, focusing on more accurate fire flows and attack packages and making sure that hoses match flow rates. “We are doing two major efforts to be a part of that movement,” he says, “one through our products and the other through education.”

2 The Magnum EXM is a high-flow monitor made by Elkhart Brass that is capable of 5,000 gpm.

On the product side of things, Martin notes that Elkhart Brass has introduced its XD (Extreme Duty) redesign of handline nozzles. “We started with the Chief nozzle and gave it a complete redo,” he says. “We went to an aluminum forged shutoff body and forged metal bail handle for maximum strength and beta tested the Chief XD with 30 of the busiest departments around the country. It’s now in full production and available in both high- and low-flow fog nozzles.”

The XD Smoothbore is another redesign by Elkhart Brass, using the same forged body and bail handle, Martin says. “The tip has been redesigned so the numbers are easier to read and have the flow rates on it,” he says. “One of our most popular combinations is the 7⁄8-inch smoothbore paired with a 160-gallon-per-minute (gpm) at 50 pounds per square inch (psi) fog nozzle.”

In addition, Elkhart Brass makes the RAM XD, which features a hydraulic stability system that harnesses reaction force to stabilize the monitor. It ha

By Sam Massa

A seasoned executive from a leading fire apparatus manufacturer once said, “Fire apparatus are like snowflakes and fingerprints. They are all extremely unique, and even with sister trucks, no two are ever exactly identical.”

These rigs often have more than 100,000 individual components, and many of them are specifically called out by the apparatus spec committee prior to sending out for bid. Good, bad, or otherwise, the apparatus is built to the spec provided. The decisions regarding configuration of the rig ultimately lie in the hands of the spec authors.

Is it realistic to expect that every committee of firefighters tasked with putting together a spec can effectively argue for or against a given component or configuration? Do firefighters understand the legal ramifications of the specifications they write? Without a tremendous amount of time and travel meeting with each component category’s subject matter expert, it’s not likely.

For 30 years this January, the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) has been working tirelessly to give apparatus committees and other firefighters a nonbrand-specific forum to ask questions. The goal is to allow the attendees to learn from multiple subject matter experts in one location and delve deep into the topics that come up in a committee meeting and often are difficult to answer without an expert on hand. In partnership with the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association (FAMA), on January 15-17, 2018, the FDSOA will be hosting fire departments all over North America for the 30th Annual Apparatus Specifications and Maintenance Symposium. The event will be held at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.

This event is the only conference dedicated to providing a better understanding of fire apparatus and ambulances to the emergency services industry. Presentations from leading industry figures, as well as apparatus and equipment manufacturers, provide the attendee with a wide range of factual data. Breakout sessions and networking events provide a forum for sharing personal experiences with peers. Combined, the resources at this event can be used to form a better educated conclusion when writing specs, which ultimately can help keep your crews safe while answering calls for service.

This year’s sessions and speakers include the following: “Legal Issues Regarding Apparatus Design” by Brad Pinsky, attorney and chief; “Our Fire Department’s New Motto: “ ‘Good Enough Is Good Enough’ ” by Gary Briese, executive director of the Colorado State Fire Chiefs; “Apparatus Safety” by Bruce Varner; and “Investigating Apparatus Crashes” by Gordon Routley, chief of the Montreal Fire Department.

FAMA member companies will provide lessons on the following topics:

Aerial Maintenance: Every aerial device requires attention. Although certain tasks are specific to certain makes and models, there are basic maintenance concepts common to all. Attend this session to learn what can happen if you neglect maintenance and what you need to do to keep your device operating safely and efficiently.

Ambulance: The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has a standard for reburbishing fire apparatus; now it is time for an ambulance refurbishment standard. Attend this session