Richard Marinucci

Wildland fires within the wildland urban interface (WUI) are major events that require special training, equipment, and strategies. Many urban and suburban firefighters have no chance of ever responding to these calls.

But, many will go to much smaller grass and brush fires, especially in mid to late summer when rainfall is less frequent. These calls are not especially complex, but complacency can set in and create challenges. It pays to prepare by reviewing basic concepts.

In many firefighters’ response districts, there are few large areas of grass or brush. As a result, departments give little attention to these incidents as they are perceived as more of a nuisance than a threat. In most cases, they are correct. With all the responsibilities that are part of a well-run department, there often is not time to do everything, so there is a prioritization of incidents. But, all organizations should at least briefly review their operations on these calls so that complacency does not set in.

For the most part there are two threats to firefighters when operating on WUI incidents: health-related and roadway-operation-related. You could add a risk to injury in that responders are operating on uneven surfaces and are subject to sprains and strains.

Awareness is important when minimizing risks to firefighters. There always needs to be a sense that something could go wrong in any aspect of this profession. When someone lets his guard down, there is the added potential for a mishap or worse. We must not overlook the simple things.

Roadway Response

Working on the roadway or nearby is a very risky venture for firefighters. Included in the different types of grass fires experienced by departments are small fires along interstate or limited access highways. They look innocent enough and, for the most part, the fire extinguishment aspect is. The fires are easily extinguished - and the grass comes back greener. It is the threat from traffic that must be considered. A firefighter in South Carolina was killed while operating on such an incident when a vehicle went through the site and hit the firefighter. You can get more information on this from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) report. It is a stark reminder that the risks exist, and you cannot ease up even when the fire operation is so simple.

Health-Related Injuries

Health, wellness, and fitness are also factors. Working on brush or grass fires can be hard work depending on the location and what is burning. It may take some effort to get to the fire, especially if a suburban or urban department does not have the off-road capabilities that others may have. This extra work can add stress to the cardiac system. Further adding to this is the fact that many of these events occur during weather extremes - i.e., heat and humidity. And, structural firefighting protective clothing is sometimes the only option for operations. Organizations should be cognizant of the potential for health-related problems and either establish an on-scene rehab (if the incident lasts very long) or closely monitor personnel when they return to the station. This will mean adequately hydrating and monitoring vital signs at the least. Officers and supervisors should be in the habit of making sure that the personnel are evaluated properly and monitored as needed. Again, there are NIOSH reports of firefighters suffering from stress events on calls that are not of the magnitude of the major wildland fires.

Fire App

By Bill Adams

Despite a 5,500-mile shared border and a feeling of commonality between the United States and Canada, there are significant differences in the two countries and, in particular, in the fire apparatus market.

The apparatus manufactured in each country may look alike, but there are subtle differences in regulatory standards as well as significant differences in how business is conducted. They must be explained to better understand one of Canada’s largest apparatus dealers, Safetek Emergency Vehicles, Ltd.

1 John Witt says Safetek is in the design/build process of replacing its existing offices in Abbottsford, British Columbia. (Photos courtesy of Safetek Emergency Vehicles, Ltd.)

According to geography textbooks, Canada is one of the four largest countries in the world in land mass. It is just behind the United States’s 3.85 million square miles. Canada’s population is slightly more than 10 percent of the approximately 324 million inhabitants in the United States. The Canadian Parliament formally recognizes English and French as co-official languages of the country, and governmental business can be conducted in either. There are also more than four dozen distinctive languages as well as native dialects spoken throughout the country. That, in itself, can be challenging for fire truck vendors.

Amalgamation

I believe any merging and consolidation of American fire departments was, and is, self-imposed and initiated by the fire departments themselves because of inadequate staffing, financial constraints, and a desire to improve customer service. In the mid 1990s, the Canadian government encouraged amalgamation - the consolidation of municipal services and governments. My observation as a “foreigner” is that some Canadian fire departments have been forced into consolidation by edict. I am not disparaging the Canadian fire service. It is my opinion that the early merging of Canadian fire departments was a result of governmental consolidations and not necessarily because of the fire departments’ choice or necessity. This could happen south of the United States/Canadian border.

2 In 2008, Safetek purchased Profire Emergency Equipment Inc., further enhancing after sales service and parts availability from coast to coast. In addition, Safetek has authorized service providers across the country.

Rarely mentioned is how amalgamation has affected the number of customers (fire departments) fire apparatus dealers can interact with. An article in Firefighting in Canada (December 2007) describes how Halifax (Nova Scotia) Regional Fire and Emergency came about in 1996 with the merging of two career and 36 volunteer fire departments into one organization. Paraphrasing a Toronto Fire Services Master Plan, in January 1998, several municipalities that made up Metropolitan Toronto were amalgamated to form the new City of Toronto. The amalgamati

By Bill Adams

Despite a 5,500-mile shared border and a feeling of commonality between the United States and Canada, there are significant differences in the two countries and, in particular, in the fire apparatus market.

The apparatus manufactured in each country may look alike, but there are subtle differences in regulatory standards as well as significant differences in how business is conducted. They must be explained to better understand one of Canada’s largest apparatus dealers, Safetek Emergency Vehicles, Ltd.

1 John Witt says Safetek is in the design/build process of replacing its existing offices in Abbottsford, British Columbia. (Photos courtesy of Safetek Emergency Vehicles, Ltd.)

According to geography textbooks, Canada is one of the four largest countries in the world in land mass. It is just behind the United States’s 3.85 million square miles. Canada’s population is slightly more than 10 percent of the approximately 324 million inhabitants in the United States. The Canadian Parliament formally recognizes English and French as co-official languages of the country, and governmental business can be conducted in either. There are also more than four dozen distinctive languages as well as native dialects spoken throughout the country. That, in itself, can be challenging for fire truck vendors.

Amalgamation

I believe any merging and consolidation of American fire departments was, and is, self-imposed and initiated by the fire departments themselves because of inadequate staffing, financial constraints, and a desire to improve customer service. In the mid 1990s, the Canadian government encouraged amalgamation - the consolidation of municipal services and governments. My observation as a “foreigner” is that some Canadian fire departments have been forced into consolidation by edict. I am not disparaging the Canadian fire service. It is my opinion that the early merging of Canadian fire departments was a result of governmental consolidations and not necessarily because of the fire departments’ choice or necessity. This could happen south of the United States/Canadian border.

2 In 2008, Safetek purchased Profire Emergency Equipment Inc., further enhancing after sales service and parts availability from coast to coast. In addition, Safetek has authorized service providers across the country.

Rarely mentioned is how amalgamation has affected the number of customers (fire departments) fire apparatus dealers can interact with. An article in Firefighting in Canada (December 2007) describes how Halifax (Nova Scotia) Regional Fire and Emergency came about in 1996 with the merging of two career and 36 volunteer fire departments into one organization. Paraphrasing a Toronto Fire Services Master Plan, in January 1998, several municipalities that made up Metropolitan Toronto were amalgamated to form the new City of Toronto. The amalgamati

By Bill Adams

Despite a 5,500-mile shared border and a feeling of commonality between the United States and Canada, there are significant differences in the two countries and, in particular, in the fire apparatus market.

The apparatus manufactured in each country may look alike, but there are subtle differences in regulatory standards as well as significant differences in how business is conducted. They must be explained to better understand one of Canada’s largest apparatus dealers, Safetek Emergency Vehicles, Ltd.

1 John Witt says Safetek is in the design/build process of replacing its existing offices in Abbottsford, British Columbia. (Photos courtesy of Safetek Emergency Vehicles, Ltd.)

According to geography textbooks, Canada is one of the four largest countries in the world in land mass. It is just behind the United States’s 3.85 million square miles. Canada’s population is slightly more than 10 percent of the approximately 324 million inhabitants in the United States. The Canadian Parliament formally recognizes English and French as co-official languages of the country, and governmental business can be conducted in either. There are also more than four dozen distinctive languages as well as native dialects spoken throughout the country. That, in itself, can be challenging for fire truck vendors.

Amalgamation

I believe any merging and consolidation of American fire departments was, and is, self-imposed and initiated by the fire departments themselves because of inadequate staffing, financial constraints, and a desire to improve customer service. In the mid 1990s, the Canadian government encouraged amalgamation - the consolidation of municipal services and governments. My observation as a “foreigner” is that some Canadian fire departments have been forced into consolidation by edict. I am not disparaging the Canadian fire service. It is my opinion that the early merging of Canadian fire departments was a result of governmental consolidations and not necessarily because of the fire departments’ choice or necessity. This could happen south of the United States/Canadian border.

2 In 2008, Safetek purchased Profire Emergency Equipment Inc., further enhancing after sales service and parts availability from coast to coast. In addition, Safetek has authorized service providers across the country.

Rarely mentioned is how amalgamation has affected the number of customers (fire departments) fire apparatus dealers can interact with. An article in Firefighting in Canada (December 2007) describes how Halifax (Nova Scotia) Regional Fire and Emergency came about in 1996 with the merging of two career and 36 volunteer fire departments into one organization. Paraphrasing a Toronto Fire Services Master Plan, in January 1998, several municipalities that made up Metropolitan Toronto were amalgamated to form the new City of Toronto. The amalgamati

By Grady North

It’s no secret that fire apparatus are becoming more multifunctional as budgets and personnel allocations decline - combining rescue trucks with pumpers (rescue-pumpers) or pumpers with aerials (quints).

However, one area that is often overlooked is the increasing amount of equipment that is carried on the apparatus and the effect this has on vehicle weight.

Additional Weight Ramifications

It is easy to add a rescue tool to the front bumper tray or put some air bags and cribbing in a compartment - just a few hundred pounds extra here and there. Later come some self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) bottle racks and maybe tool boards. Before you know it, a few hundred pounds become several thousand pounds.

NFPA 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, has made provisions for estimating sample equipment and hose in-service weight allowances on a fire apparatus. It also spells out the purchaser’s responsibility for determining specifically what the correct equipment and hose weight allowance should be on its particular apparatus. Specifically, NFPA 1901 states:

12.1.1: The manufacturer shall establish the estimated in-service weight during the design of the fire apparatus.

12.1.2: The estimated in-service weight shall include the following:

1. The chassis, body, and tank(s).
2. Full fuel, lubricant, and other chassis or component fluid tanks or reservoirs.
3. Full water and other agent tanks.
4. * 250 pounds (114 kg) in each seating position.
5. Fixed equipment such as pumps, aerial devices, generators, reels, and air systems as installed.
6. Ground ladders, suction hose, and designed hose loads in their hosebeds and on their reels.
7. An allowance for miscellaneous equipment that is the greatest of the values shown in Table 12.1.2, a purchaser-provided list of equipment to be carried with weights, or a purchaser-specified miscellaneous equipment allowance.

12.1.3: The manufacturer shall engineer and design the fire apparatus such that the completed apparatus, when loaded to its estimated in-service weight with all movable weights distributed as close as is practical to their intended in-service configuration, does not exceed the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR).

12.1.4: A final manufacturer’s certification of the GVWR or gross combined weight rating (GCWR), along with a certification of each gross axle weight rating (GAWR), shall be supplied on a label affixed to the vehicle.

* The 250 pounds (114 kg) in each seating position does not include the weight of SCBA and tools carried by a firefighter.

Miscellaneous Equipment Allowance

Table 12.1.2 spells out the miscellaneous equipment allowance for all types of apparatus, from initial attack to tankers to quints. For simplicity, let’s look at pumpers. There are two categories.

The apparatus manufacturer can tell you the total capacity of the compartment arrangement you have selected in cubic feet. If you do not inform