By Ricky Riley

In the previous two articles of this series, I covered the fiery end to a piece of apparatus and the struggles to get it replaced. I then covered the bid specification process and the engineering portion of the replacement unit. This article will cover the new unit’s delivery and the final steps necessary to place it in service.

1 The first look at the new rescue-engine sitting on “the Blue Floor” at Pierce Manufacturing. (Photos by author.)

Once you have your apparatus on order, the manufacturer supplies your salesperson with a proposed ready for pickup (RFP) date. The RFP gives the customer an estimated delivery date from the factory, which in turn allows the department to plan out the other remaining activities required before the apparatus can take its first run. It’s always a good day when the salesperson contacts the department and advises the unit is on schedule and to start making plans for the trip out for the final inspection. Regardless of whether your department is career, combination, or volunteer, getting all the committee personnel to agree on a set of dates is always a challenge. Once you have everyone’s schedule straight and the trip planned, it’s time to go see the finished product. In our case, we all got on planes and headed to Pierce Manufacturing in Appleton, Wisconsin, to check out the new rescue-engine-something we had all been waiting to do for close to a year.

When the committee arrived at Pierce, we headed to the checkout area, otherwise known as “the Blue Floor.” This is the area where units ready for delivery are staged next to work stations and supplies for the customers to do the final checkout of their purchase. We got our first look at the newest member of our family, and we were all smiles. The new unit looked great, and the thoughts of how long it would be before we took it on the first run were running through our heads.

2 Looking at the coffin compartments, generator, and hosebed lighting while members are on top of the rig.

Getting to Work

After the initial gawking, it was time to get to work. Randy Swartz, our salesperson from Atlantic Emergency Solutions, went over the checkout plan. The first thing we received was a final component list outlining all the changes and modifications we made at the engineering conference. We also received a marked-up engineering print that reflected a number of component placements also revised at the engineering conference. Committee members had gathered all the e-mails and correspondence from the riding members of the department outlining their questions and concerns. Each committee member going over the rig received copies of all these materials, and it was now business time.

Committee members inspected each line on the component list and checked the engineering print for accuracy. This involved climbing the new apparatus top to bottom, front to rear, and underneath the cab. The group checked each component and option against the lists and the department’s expectations. These inspections usually bring up a number of questions, such as, “Why was this or that done?” “Why was it manufactured like this?” a

By Roger Lackore

In this day of electronic media, there are many ways to learn and sharpen your skills without ever leaving the station.

There are videos, blogs, Webinars, and Google searches, just to name a few. So, why bother sending your fire department staff to a live symposium when the alternatives are easier on department budgets? At the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association (FAMA), we feel that there is still a great advantage to getting out of the box and being able to meet face to face, ask questions, shake hands, and learn from each other. This is the reason our member companies dedicate time and energy each year, partnering with the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) to bring you the Annual Fire Apparatus Maintenance and Specification Symposium.

Advantages of a Live Event

Attending a conference in person has a number of benefits you can’t get from a computer at the station. Here are just a few:

• Networking: In-person events provide opportunities to exchange experiences and information. During breakout sessions, lunches, and networking time, new relationships with industry experts and other firefighters can be formed, and old relationships can be strengthened.
• New tools: Knowledge is power. There are a lot of tools out there that can improve your department’s efficiency and effectiveness. The key is knowing where to look. From presentations to vendor displays and whether asking your own questions or overhearing the conversation next to you, a live event is a rich source of power through education.
• Learning in a new space: Breaking out of the station and learning in a new space can free up time to focus on the job of learning. Being confined to the regular routine can make it very difficult to become inspired to see things in a new light.
• Breaking out of your comfort zone: Live events force us to break out of our comfort zone. The Apparatus Maintenance and Specification Symposium offers class sizes conducive to asking questions, making comments, and sharing experiences. Many of the presentations emphasize attendee participation.
• The energy of like-minded individuals: There’s nothing like being in a room of like-minded people to generate ideas and effective solutions. The situation promotes discussion with other people who are willing to take time away from the office to learn something new and to “better” themselves. When you sit in a classroom or auditorium, you discover that you’re not alone in wanting to improve your skills and bring something back to your office or organization.

Returning to Florida

The 29th Annual Apparatus Specification and Maintenance Symposium returns to Orlando, Florida, in 2017 with a new lineup of educational presentations. The Symposium is a collection of presentations by industry experts covering a wide variety of apparatus and ambulance topics. FAMA member companies will support the symposium with presenters, sponsors, and a product exposition.

For the second year in a row, the Symposium will take place the same week as the FDSOA Annual Safety Forum. Attendees who wish to do so can spend Sunday through Wednesday at the Apparatus Maintenance and Specification Symposium and then round out the week at the Safety Forum. In addition to educational presentations, the Symposium includes interactive sessions where participants can seek answers to questions posed to apparatus engineers.

Regular attendees know that they will be exposed to the late

By Roger Lackore

In this day of electronic media, there are many ways to learn and sharpen your skills without ever leaving the station.

There are videos, blogs, Webinars, and Google searches, just to name a few. So, why bother sending your fire department staff to a live symposium when the alternatives are easier on department budgets? At the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association (FAMA), we feel that there is still a great advantage to getting out of the box and being able to meet face to face, ask questions, shake hands, and learn from each other. This is the reason our member companies dedicate time and energy each year, partnering with the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) to bring you the Annual Fire Apparatus Maintenance and Specification Symposium.

Advantages of a Live Event

Attending a conference in person has a number of benefits you can’t get from a computer at the station. Here are just a few:

• Networking: In-person events provide opportunities to exchange experiences and information. During breakout sessions, lunches, and networking time, new relationships with industry experts and other firefighters can be formed, and old relationships can be strengthened.
• New tools: Knowledge is power. There are a lot of tools out there that can improve your department’s efficiency and effectiveness. The key is knowing where to look. From presentations to vendor displays and whether asking your own questions or overhearing the conversation next to you, a live event is a rich source of power through education.
• Learning in a new space: Breaking out of the station and learning in a new space can free up time to focus on the job of learning. Being confined to the regular routine can make it very difficult to become inspired to see things in a new light.
• Breaking out of your comfort zone: Live events force us to break out of our comfort zone. The Apparatus Maintenance and Specification Symposium offers class sizes conducive to asking questions, making comments, and sharing experiences. Many of the presentations emphasize attendee participation.
• The energy of like-minded individuals: There’s nothing like being in a room of like-minded people to generate ideas and effective solutions. The situation promotes discussion with other people who are willing to take time away from the office to learn something new and to “better” themselves. When you sit in a classroom or auditorium, you discover that you’re not alone in wanting to improve your skills and bring something back to your office or organization.

Returning to Florida

The 29th Annual Apparatus Specification and Maintenance Symposium returns to Orlando, Florida, in 2017 with a new lineup of educational presentations. The Symposium is a collection of presentations by industry experts covering a wide variety of apparatus and ambulance topics. FAMA member companies will support the symposium with presenters, sponsors, and a product exposition.

For the second year in a row, the Symposium will take place the same week as the FDSOA Annual Safety Forum. Attendees who wish to do so can spend Sunday through Wednesday at the Apparatus Maintenance and Specification Symposium and then round out the week at the Safety Forum. In addition to educational presentations, the Symposium includes interactive sessions where participants can seek answers to questions posed to apparatus engineers.

Regular attendees know that they will be exposed to the late

By Roger Lackore

In this day of electronic media, there are many ways to learn and sharpen your skills without ever leaving the station.

There are videos, blogs, Webinars, and Google searches, just to name a few. So, why bother sending your fire department staff to a live symposium when the alternatives are easier on department budgets? At the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association (FAMA), we feel that there is still a great advantage to getting out of the box and being able to meet face to face, ask questions, shake hands, and learn from each other. This is the reason our member companies dedicate time and energy each year, partnering with the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) to bring you the Annual Fire Apparatus Maintenance and Specification Symposium.

Advantages of a Live Event

Attending a conference in person has a number of benefits you can’t get from a computer at the station. Here are just a few:

• Networking: In-person events provide opportunities to exchange experiences and information. During breakout sessions, lunches, and networking time, new relationships with industry experts and other firefighters can be formed, and old relationships can be strengthened.
• New tools: Knowledge is power. There are a lot of tools out there that can improve your department’s efficiency and effectiveness. The key is knowing where to look. From presentations to vendor displays and whether asking your own questions or overhearing the conversation next to you, a live event is a rich source of power through education.
• Learning in a new space: Breaking out of the station and learning in a new space can free up time to focus on the job of learning. Being confined to the regular routine can make it very difficult to become inspired to see things in a new light.
• Breaking out of your comfort zone: Live events force us to break out of our comfort zone. The Apparatus Maintenance and Specification Symposium offers class sizes conducive to asking questions, making comments, and sharing experiences. Many of the presentations emphasize attendee participation.
• The energy of like-minded individuals: There’s nothing like being in a room of like-minded people to generate ideas and effective solutions. The situation promotes discussion with other people who are willing to take time away from the office to learn something new and to “better” themselves. When you sit in a classroom or auditorium, you discover that you’re not alone in wanting to improve your skills and bring something back to your office or organization.

Returning to Florida

The 29th Annual Apparatus Specification and Maintenance Symposium returns to Orlando, Florida, in 2017 with a new lineup of educational presentations. The Symposium is a collection of presentations by industry experts covering a wide variety of apparatus and ambulance topics. FAMA member companies will support the symposium with presenters, sponsors, and a product exposition.

For the second year in a row, the Symposium will take place the same week as the FDSOA Annual Safety Forum. Attendees who wish to do so can spend Sunday through Wednesday at the Apparatus Maintenance and Specification Symposium and then round out the week at the Safety Forum. In addition to educational presentations, the Symposium includes interactive sessions where participants can seek answers to questions posed to apparatus engineers.

Regular attendees know that they will be exposed to the latest in technology, safety, and maintenance best practices. First-time attendees will discover the only venue in the nation where fire apparatus and product engineers are gathered in an inform

By Alan M. Petrillo

While standardized lines of vehicles built by ambulance makers are the norm, more and more buyers are asking makers to customize rigs to meet their special requirements.

The type of customization varies with the needs of the department or agency as well as the job that will be required of the ambulance, but manufacturers say some unusual custom ambulances have been requested from the customer’s side of the transaction.

Custom Influences

Chad Newsome, national sales manager for PL Custom Body and Equipment Co. Inc., says PL Custom has made a number of “very custom” ambulances but that the company always is cognizant of customized elements that might make the rig unsafe from a design standpoint. “For example, a customer might want a number of extremely heavy components on one side of the truck, which would mean the truck is not balanced for its gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR),” Newsome points out. “Or, they might spec the vehicle where the electrical needs exceed the generating capacity of the truck itself, which would cause us to look at additional sources of power.”

Newsome adds that PL Custom continues to update its basic designs to comply with all standards coming out in the industry as well as the spirit of those safety standards, such as how to keep people seat belted and secured to minimize risk yet still able to do their job effectively and efficiently in the back of the rig. He says that some states go by the federal General Services Administration KKK-A-1822 specification for ambulances, while others adopt National Fire Protection Association 1917, Standard for Automotive Ambulances, for the regulations. Newsome says some customization changes came about, “when KKK changed its standard for securing equipment inside the box, such as portable oxygen tanks, monitors, and cot retention.”

1 PL Custom Body and Equipment Co. Inc. customized this Type 1 ambulance for Mount Weather (VA) Fire Rescue on a Dodge chassis with a door-forward design, all-aluminum interior, five custom exterior compartments, Buckstop front bumper, and custom interior design. (Photo courtesy of PL Custom Body and Equipment Co. Inc.)

A Type 1 ambulance, Newsome observes, is a cab and chassis unit with a modular container on the back, in both walk-through and nonwalk-through styles. Type 2 ambulances are narrow vans with raised roofs like the Ford Transit and the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. Type 3 rigs have a van-front RV-style cutaway chassis coupled with a box on the rear, historically walk-through but sometimes pass-through, he adds.

Chad Brown, vice president of sales and marketing for Braun Industries Inc., agrees that KKK specification change notices numbers 8 and 9 on cot retention, seat belt retention, oxygen, and fire extinguisher retention “are two of the things driving customization, along with customer needs.” Brown points out that the traditional squad bench in the patient box is disappearing and being replaced by a captain’s chair. “We’re using a captain’s chair on a 36- to 40-inch Mobility 1 track that allows the chair to slide forward and back as well as to swivel 90 degrees to face the patient,” Brown says. “The attendant stays belted in the captain’s chair t