Apparatus Purchasing: Sell Three, Keep One, and Buy One
By Bill Adams
Many fire service publications expound on reducing career staffing in cash-strapped municipal fire departments and the declining number of volunteer firefighters in the suburbs. One result of the declining number of firefighters is the increased use of multipurpose apparatus. The days of traditional engine and ladder companies and single-function support apparatus such as hose wagons, tankers (water tenders), heavy rescues, and squad trucks may be numbered. Reviews of recent deliveries of multipurpose rigs show that most pundits praise the work of the apparatus purchasing committees (APCs), expound on the expertise of the manufacturers, give basic descriptions of the apparatus, and state how everyone is ecstatic with the new delivery.
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| 1 The Village of Manchester (NY) Fire Department’s four primary front-line rigs include a used heavy rescue, a used rear-mount aerial ladder, a pumper, and a pumper-tanker. A new quint and the pumper-tanker will soon be its only two primary pieces. An existing four-door brush truck and a four-door utility vehicle will move up to the front row. (Photos by author unless otherwise noted.) |
The decision making process in determining why a department specifies a particular type of rig is seldom discussed in detail. What is the reasoning? What’s being gained? More importantly, what’s being lost? That information might be more beneficial to APCs than describing a new rig’s color scheme; the number of sirens mounted on the front bumper; and how the apparatus is better than apple pie, sunshine, and fresh air.
A local fire chief said he was selling three rigs, keeping one, and purchasing one new one. I kiddingly called it the 3-1-1 concept. I’m not a proponent of multipurpose apparatus, so learning that this chief was substantially downsizing his fleet and purchasing a single multipurpose rig was the impetus for this article. I challenged his decision making process while expressing my own traditionalist views. He granted an interview. His candid responses are educational.
Manchester (NY) Fire Department
The Village of Manchester (NY) Fire Department (MFD), located in Ontario County in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, was established in 1912. It covers 25 square miles including the one-square-mile village where more than half of the 3,000 residents reside. It has an Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating of 5-both inside and outside the village. Last year, the department responded to 217 alarms, up from 150 10 years ago. Except for an occasional call to assist an outside ambulance service with a forced entry to a structure, a lift assist, or setting up a landing zone for a helicopter transport, it does not provide emergency medical services (EMS). It does not carry EMS equipment on the apparatus except for what is National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) mandated.
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Posted: Nov 2, 2016
By Bill Adams
Many fire service publications expound on reducing career staffing in cash-strapped municipal fire departments and the declining number of volunteer firefighters in the suburbs. One result of the declining number of firefighters is the increased use of multipurpose apparatus. The days of traditional engine and ladder companies and single-function support apparatus such as hose wagons, tankers (water tenders), heavy rescues, and squad trucks may be numbered. Reviews of recent deliveries of multipurpose rigs show that most pundits praise the work of the apparatus purchasing committees (APCs), expound on the expertise of the manufacturers, give basic descriptions of the apparatus, and state how everyone is ecstatic with the new delivery.
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| 1 The Village of Manchester (NY) Fire Department’s four primary front-line rigs include a used heavy rescue, a used rear-mount aerial ladder, a pumper, and a pumper-tanker. A new quint and the pumper-tanker will soon be its only two primary pieces. An existing four-door brush truck and a four-door utility vehicle will move up to the front row. (Photos by author unless otherwise noted.) |
The decision making process in determining why a department specifies a particular type of rig is seldom discussed in detail. What is the reasoning? What’s being gained? More importantly, what’s being lost? That information might be more beneficial to APCs than describing a new rig’s color scheme; the number of sirens mounted on the front bumper; and how the apparatus is better than apple pie, sunshine, and fresh air.
A local fire chief said he was selling three rigs, keeping one, and purchasing one new one. I kiddingly called it the 3-1-1 concept. I’m not a proponent of multipurpose apparatus, so learning that this chief was substantially downsizing his fleet and purchasing a single multipurpose rig was the impetus for this article. I challenged his decision making process while expressing my own traditionalist views. He granted an interview. His candid responses are educational.
Manchester (NY) Fire Department
The Village of Manchester (NY) Fire Department (MFD), located in Ontario County in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, was established in 1912. It covers 25 square miles including the one-square-mile village where more than half of the 3,000 residents reside. It has an Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating of 5-both inside and outside the village. Last year, the department responded to 217 alarms, up from 150 10 years ago. Except for an occasional call to assist an outside ambulance service with a forced entry to a structure, a lift assist, or setting up a landing zone for a helicopter transport, it does not provide emergency medical services (EMS). It does not carry EMS equipment on the apparatus except for what is National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) mandated.
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- 210
- Article rating: No rating
Posted: Nov 2, 2016
By Bill Adams
Many fire service publications expound on reducing career staffing in cash-strapped municipal fire departments and the declining number of volunteer firefighters in the suburbs. One result of the declining number of firefighters is the increased use of multipurpose apparatus. The days of traditional engine and ladder companies and single-function support apparatus such as hose wagons, tankers (water tenders), heavy rescues, and squad trucks may be numbered. Reviews of recent deliveries of multipurpose rigs show that most pundits praise the work of the apparatus purchasing committees (APCs), expound on the expertise of the manufacturers, give basic descriptions of the apparatus, and state how everyone is ecstatic with the new delivery.
|
| 1 The Village of Manchester (NY) Fire Department’s four primary front-line rigs include a used heavy rescue, a used rear-mount aerial ladder, a pumper, and a pumper-tanker. A new quint and the pumper-tanker will soon be its only two primary pieces. An existing four-door brush truck and a four-door utility vehicle will move up to the front row. (Photos by author unless otherwise noted.) |
The decision making process in determining why a department specifies a particular type of rig is seldom discussed in detail. What is the reasoning? What’s being gained? More importantly, what’s being lost? That information might be more beneficial to APCs than describing a new rig’s color scheme; the number of sirens mounted on the front bumper; and how the apparatus is better than apple pie, sunshine, and fresh air.
A local fire chief said he was selling three rigs, keeping one, and purchasing one new one. I kiddingly called it the 3-1-1 concept. I’m not a proponent of multipurpose apparatus, so learning that this chief was substantially downsizing his fleet and purchasing a single multipurpose rig was the impetus for this article. I challenged his decision making process while expressing my own traditionalist views. He granted an interview. His candid responses are educational.
Manchester (NY) Fire Department
The Village of Manchester (NY) Fire Department (MFD), located in Ontario County in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, was established in 1912. It covers 25 square miles including the one-square-mile village where more than half of the 3,000 residents reside. It has an Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating of 5-both inside and outside the village. Last year, the department responded to 217 alarms, up from 150 10 years ago. Except for an occasional call to assist an outside ambulance service with a forced entry to a structure, a lift assist, or setting up a landing zone for a helicopter transport, it does not provide emergency medical services (EMS). It does not carry EMS equipment on the apparatus except for what is National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) mandated.
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- 168
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Posted: Nov 2, 2016
The Grant County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Monday to fold the county’s Department of Emergency Management into the County Sheriff’s Office.
The integration of the two offices “will allow for sustained and consistently coordinated operations during emergencies,” according to Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones.
- PUB DATE: 11/2/2016 2:09:57 AM - SOURCE: Columbia Basin Herald
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- 324
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Posted: Nov 2, 2016
The City of Lockport violated the law and its contract with the city firefighters' union by privatizing ambulance service in 2014, a state administrative law judge ruled Monday.
Judge Lynn Fitzgerald of the Public Employment Relations Board ordered the city to return the ambulance duties to the fire department.
- PUB DATE: 11/2/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Buffalo News
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- 418
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