Pierce Manufacturing announced that it has delivered first-ever Pierce® Ascendant® 107-foot tractor-drawn aerial tiller to the Tuscaloosa (AL) Fire & Rescue Department. The apparatus is the first aerial tiller of any type in the department’s 139-year history. 

Appleton, WI—Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation company, announced that it has delivered the first-ever Pierce® Ascendant® 107-foot tractor-drawn aerial (TDA) tiller to the Tuscaloosa (AL) Fire & Rescue Department. The apparatus is the first aerial tiller of any type in the department’s 139-year history. The vehicle was delivered to the department immediately following its debut at FDIC International 2017.

Earlier this year, Tuscaloosa Fire & Rescue took delivery of two Pierce pumpers; it has two more Pierce pumpers on order.

“The selection of the all-new Pierce Ascendant 107-foot aerial tiller by Tuscaloosa Fire & Rescue is a real vote of confidence in our products and the excellent sales and support services provided by our local dealer, Emergency Equipment Professionals; we could not be more proud,” said Matt McLeish, senior vice president of sales and marketing of the Fire & Emergency segment and Pierce Manufacturing. “As cities and towns become more congested, we continue to experience steady growth in tractor-drawn ladder vehicles. With the Pierce Ascendant 107-foot tiller now available, we expect this trend to continue and even accelerate.”

“The Pierce Ascendant tractor drawn ladder is going to greatly enhance our already solid truck company operations,” said Fire Chief Alan Martin, a 43-year veteran of the fire service, and Tuscaloosa Fire & Rescue fire chief since 2002. “In our area, the roadways and intersections seem to be getting narrower, and the commercial and residential buildings are situated closer to the streets. With the Ascendant 107-foot tiller, it’ll be easier to get into tight places, yet still provide the reach we need. This is the one truck that will do all of that for us.”

This Pierce Ascendant tiller apparatus for Tuscaloosa is built on a Pierce Arrow XT™ chassis and features a 500-hp engine, a four-door cab, and seating for six firefighters. The tiller trailer includes TAK-4® independent suspension for a smoother ride and enhanced control. The vehicle has 570 cubic feet of storage and carries a full complement of ground ladders, rescue tools, and equipment. The 107-foot aerial ladder features a weight-optimized design structure that places weight and mass only where required. The aerial delivers a full 107-foot vertical reach and a 100-foot horizontal reach with a below-grade operation of -10º.

Tuscaloosa is the fifth largest city in Alabama and is located on the Black Warrior River in the west central section of the state. Tuscaloosa Fire & Rescue features 12 engine companies, 11 stations, and 250 paid personnel. The department’s protection area includes the University of Alabama as well as a Mercedes-Benz manufacturing plant. “For seven weekends a year during football season, we’re the second largest city in the state,” said Martin. “The stadium seats around 106,000 and there’s another 25,000 to 30,000 gathered outside the gates. It presents some significant challenges for us, but we wouldn’t have it any other way!” 

The Pierce Ascendant Class of aerials has expanded to include

The Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation has donated about $60,000 to local fire districts to purchase new equipment. The Getchell Fire District, the Darrington Fire District and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources all received funds from the foundation and gathered on April 26 at the Lakewood Firehouse Subs to celebrate the donations.
- PUB DATE: 5/2/2017 10:47:11 AM - SOURCE: North Couty Outlook

By Bill Adams

One of the raisins brought in an old yellowed and wrinkled up Peter Pirsch advertisement from 1973 showing a tractor-drawn aerial ladder (TDA). It was a real ladder truck—without a pump. Mounted on the side of the trailer was a big old deck gun, probably a MacIntyer or Eastman, with the long stream straightener and straight tips. It looks like it meant business. It was piped to a siamese so it could be supplied by a pumper. I consider a deck gun a master stream device that is permanently mounted on a rig and is usually, but not necessarily always, hard piped to an onboard pump. A portable/deck monitor is one that can be used on top that also can be removed and used on the ground. Again, those are my own definitions. Refer to your favorite text to find a definition to your liking. We white hairs do all the time.

Anyhow, morning coffee ended up in a donnybrook about the merits of having a permanently mounted deck gun on a ladder truck (aka truck company). It didn’t matter if it was a quint. It lasted for a couple of days until most of us either forgot what we were arguing about or what side we took. Bear in mind that from the early 1970s to the mid 1990s is when the majority of the wrinkle squad were the most active.

I am a proponent of having a deck gun on a ladder truck because the truck company is always going to be close to the building. Besides, if you’re using master streams, the pumpers belong on hydrants. Others’ comments are italicized. Mine are in quotes. What if the walls collapse? “You should stay out of the collapse zone.” Well, it is cheaper to lose a pumper. “It doesn’t matter what it is, it shouldn’t be that close.” That depends who the driver is. I let it go. A couple of days later I brought some photos to morning coffee showing new quints with prepiped deck guns. It didn’t matter. Those are quints. “So what?” You were talking about ladder trucks. “The principle is the same.” Harry, the quintessential bellyacher and resident tight wad: You’re too old fashioned—times have changed. “Times have changed? You old fool, you’ve been living in the past for the past 10 years.” 

He should’ve been a politician. His philosophy is if you don’t like the idea but can’t discredit it or disprove it, kill the messenger. And, he’s so miserly that he can bite a nickel so hard the buffalo will pass gas. When I said to give me one good reason why you shouldn’t put a deck gun on a ladder truck, his answer was predictable. It’s too expensive. “Ah, never mind.” I left.

This prepiped master stream (above and below) is on the passenger's side of a quint in East Rochester, New York.  If the barrel is not tilted down to the deck when not in use, it should be supported with a stand to prevent undue stress on the gun's internal gears. Photo by author.

Early the next morning, one of the young guys who overheard the previous discussion mentioned the deck guns in the photos were actually combination portable/deck monitors hard piped to the rig’s pump that also could be removed and used with a separate base section as a portable. I mentioned I don’t really like them. He said: But, didn’t you sell a whole bunch of them? “Yeah, but that was a long time ago.

PHOTO - Firefighters responded Sunday after a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle caught fire south-east of Port Angeles. The car’s owner, David Louden, told Clallam County Fire District No. 2 firefighters he had traveled less than 100 yards when the car backfired and he noticed flames coming from the engine compartment, according to a press release.
- PUB DATE: 5/2/2017 7:33:45 AM - SOURCE: Port Angeles Peninsula Daily News

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) and RapidSOS recently announced a new solution for getting emergency help to people who need it most – faster and more efficiently.

Motorola Solutions and RapidSOS, an emergency technology startup, will soon begin delivering precise location information for U.S. 911 calls made from smartphones. The solution creates end-to-end data connectivity by sharing precise location across the emergency call, from citizens in need to dispatchers to first responders.

RELATED: RapidSOS Closes $14M Series A Funding Round to Transform Safety and Security

About 70 percent of U.S. 911 calls are made from mobile phones, and knowing the precise location of an emergency caller can accelerate time to resolution. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 911 calls from mobile phones may provide a general indication of the caller’s location, but that information is not always specific enough to quickly deploy first responders.

In the coming weeks, precise location information enabled by RapidSOS will be available on Emergency CallWorks CallStation, Motorola Solutions’ software for emergency call-taking and mapping. Precise location also will be delivered to first responders in the field through Motorola Solutions’ Messaging and Mapping public safety mobile applications that will be released later this year. Precise location will be estimated based on the location of the device, using sensors on the device and WiFi access points, Bluetooth transmitters and other technology that detects indoor and outdoor location.

“This solution has the power to get emergency help to citizens more quickly and efficiently,” said Tom Guthrie, vice president, Smart Public Safety Solutions, Motorola Solutions. “It enables precise location to be shared across the end-to-end workflow of an emergency call, ensuring personnel at every stage have the critical information they need. The expansion of public safety broadband enables us to create solutions like this one, which allow for more information-sharing among first responders, public safety command centers and citizens.”

“RapidSOS’ technology transmits rich data from wearables, connected cars, consumer IoT, and mobile devices,” said Michael Martin, chief executive officer, RapidSOS. “Working with Motorola Solutions, we can provide unprecedented information to first responders in an emergency – having a profound impact on emergency response.”

Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, the company’s strategic investment group, recently made an investment in RapidSOS. In addition to delivering precise location for emergency calls from smartphones, the companies are also exploring how third-party data collected by smartphones, connected cars, wearables and other connected devices can flow through Motorola Solutions’ integrated suite of command center software, from 911 call-takers and dispatchers to police officers and emergency medical personnel in the field.