By Carl J. Haddon

Many of you will remember a tragic rescue attempt caught on tape some years back.

A cyclist had been struck/run over by a car and was trapped underneath the vehicle. The video shows a first responder with a hydraulic rescue spreader that he deploys to vertically lift the car off of the patient. The lift occurs, and as rescuers attempt to remove the victim from under the car, the spreader loses purchase, causing the car to fall and fatally crush the victim.

1 The TL-9 spreader. (Photos by author.)

Without being a Monday morning quarterback or pointing fingers at anyone, let me just say that this was a case of using the wrong tool for the right reason. Hydraulic rescue spreader arms and tips are not wide enough to provide any kind of stability for such an application. I am unaware of any rescue tool manufacturer that endorses such a practice because of the typical configuration and construction of rescue spreader arms and tips and the nature of the way that spreaders open. There is nothing bad about the tools themselves; it is simply a matter of the wrong tool for the job-until now.

Fast forward to today and the introduction of the TL-9 Stabilizer. The TL-9 is a heavy duty universal appliance designed to fit all commercially available rescue spreaders. Made of one-half-inch-thick plate steel, the stabilizer is designed to offer a six-inch by six-inch base with vertical gusseted support towers on which a spreader can be used to effect a more stable vertical lift.

2 Step chocks are positioned on the opposite side from the lift to offer additional lateral stabilization.

Additional features of the patented TL-9 Stabilizer include the following:

• Base plate-six- by six-inch, half-inch-thick plate steel; compression-tested to 60 tons.
• Stabilizing towers-four inches high and 2½ inches wide, half-inch steel, with 2½-inch steel gusset supports on each tower; tested for lateral strength to 15 tons with 1⁄8-inch deviation.
• Rolled limiting pin-5⁄8-inch traveling pin, hardened, travels approximately 15⁄8 inches within the towers; designed to limit the spreader from hyperextending (maximum opening of the spreader is limited to 70 percent); a 5⁄8-inch square steel stock stopper at the front of the plate with a lock slot for the lower tip of the spreader adds a heavy duty spreader tip stop to the device.

Recently, during a new vehicle extrication training program in Ticonderoga, New York, I had the opportunity to take the new TL-9 for a test drive. Simply stated, it does exactly what it purports to do. I have to admit that it was weird to intentionally use a spreader in this fashion, as we’ve always been taught not to lift a vehicle with a spreader. It is vitally important to note that the manufacturers of this product insist that proper cribbing techniques be used (lift an inch, crib an inch) while performing this maneuver with the TL-9. The TL-9 is instantly deployable and has a small footprint for stowage on the apparatus.

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1 These two Darley-built UHP pumping systems were ordered by a fire department in South Africa. (Photo courtesy of W.S. Darley & Co.)

Bill Carroll, general manager of HMA Fire, says HMA has been shifting its focus from military and government sales to municipal fire departments “now that National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus (2016 ed.), and NFPA 1906, Standard for Wildland Fire Apparatus (2016 ed.), have UHP sections in them.” He notes that one of HMA’s UHP units is going on a rapid response vehicle (RRV) built on a Ford F-550 chassis with super single tires manufactured by Pierce Manufacturing for the Middleton (WI) Fire Department with a 300-gallon water tank and 30-gpm bumper turret. “Instead of a skid unit, it’s coming off the live-drive power takeoff (PTO) that allows pump and roll. The system will pump 30 gpm at 1,300 psi,” Carroll says.

Carroll points out that HMA Fire has built 30-, 60-, and 90-gpm UHP skid unit systems using Waterous and Hale centrifugal pumps. “We build a 90-gpm system at 1,300 psi that will supply a 70-gpm bumper turret and a 20-gpm handline simultaneously,” he adds. “But the 20-gpm UHP is our most commonly used system. It can fit in the back of a pickup truck or be fitted into a small rescue.”

2 Darley makes the 2BE-23V UHP pump running at eight gpm at 1,300 psi that’s driven by a 23-hp Vanguard gasoline engine. Darley also makes the 2BE that’s driven by a Kubota 24-hp diesel engine. (Photo courtesy of W.S. Darley & Co.)

Kevin Quinn, president and owner of E.J. Metals, says his company makes UHP systems i

By Alan M. Petrillo

Ultra-high-pressure (UHP) pumping systems have been around for a while but are attracting more attention recently in using their higher pressure to extinguish flammable liquid fires; wildfires; and, in some cases, even fires such as room-and-contents fires.

Offerings

Ryan Darley, international sales manager for W.S. Darley Co., says Darley makes an ultra-high-pressure-high-volume (UHP-HV) pump that has proven popular for wildland and rescue truck use in the United States, as well as in New Zealand and South Africa. “It’s two pumps driven off of one engine, plus Class A or B foam,” Darley says. “The Model 2BE-23V has a UHP side running at eight gallons per minute (gpm) at 1,300 pounds per square inch (psi) driven by a 23-horsepower (hp) Vanguard gasoline engine driving a CAT 7CP high-pressure piston pump with foam injection, typically through a ½-inch-diameter hoseline. The system also is available with a 24-hp Kubota diesel engine.”

1 These two Darley-built UHP pumping systems were ordered by a fire department in South Africa. (Photo courtesy of W.S. Darley & Co.)

Bill Carroll, general manager of HMA Fire, says HMA has been shifting its focus from military and government sales to municipal fire departments “now that National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus (2016 ed.), and NFPA 1906, Standard for Wildland Fire Apparatus (2016 ed.), have UHP sections in them.” He notes that one of HMA’s UHP units is going on a rapid response vehicle (RRV) built on a Ford F-550 chassis with super single tires manufactured by Pierce Manufacturing for the Middleton (WI) Fire Department with a 300-gallon water tank and 30-gpm bumper turret. “Instead of a skid unit, it’s coming off the live-drive power takeoff (PTO) that allows pump and roll. The system will pump 30 gpm at 1,300 psi,” Carroll says.

Carroll points out that HMA Fire has built 30-, 60-, and 90-gpm UHP skid unit systems using Waterous and Hale centrifugal pumps. “We build a 90-gpm system at 1,300 psi that will supply a 70-gpm bumper turret and a 20-gpm handline simultaneously,” he adds. “But the 20-gpm UHP is our most commonly used system. It can fit in the back of a pickup truck or be fitted into a small rescue.”

2 Darley makes the 2BE-23V UHP pump running at eight gpm at 1,300 psi that’s driven by a 23-hp Vanguard gasoline engine. Darley also makes the 2BE that’s driven by a Kubota 24-hp diesel engine. (Photo courtesy of W.S. Darley & Co.)

Kevin Quinn, president and owner of E.J. Metals, says his company makes UHP systems i

By Alan M. Petrillo

Ultra-high-pressure (UHP) pumping systems have been around for a while but are attracting more attention recently in using their higher pressure to extinguish flammable liquid fires; wildfires; and, in some cases, even fires such as room-and-contents fires.

Offerings

Ryan Darley, international sales manager for W.S. Darley Co., says Darley makes an ultra-high-pressure-high-volume (UHP-HV) pump that has proven popular for wildland and rescue truck use in the United States, as well as in New Zealand and South Africa. “It’s two pumps driven off of one engine, plus Class A or B foam,” Darley says. “The Model 2BE-23V has a UHP side running at eight gallons per minute (gpm) at 1,300 pounds per square inch (psi) driven by a 23-horsepower (hp) Vanguard gasoline engine driving a CAT 7CP high-pressure piston pump with foam injection, typically through a ½-inch-diameter hoseline. The system also is available with a 24-hp Kubota diesel engine.”

1 These two Darley-built UHP pumping systems were ordered by a fire department in South Africa. (Photo courtesy of W.S. Darley & Co.)

Bill Carroll, general manager of HMA Fire, says HMA has been shifting its focus from military and government sales to municipal fire departments “now that National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus (2016 ed.), and NFPA 1906, Standard for Wildland Fire Apparatus (2016 ed.), have UHP sections in them.” He notes that one of HMA’s UHP units is going on a rapid response vehicle (RRV) built on a Ford F-550 chassis with super single tires manufactured by Pierce Manufacturing for the Middleton (WI) Fire Department with a 300-gallon water tank and 30-gpm bumper turret. “Instead of a skid unit, it’s coming off the live-drive power takeoff (PTO) that allows pump and roll. The system will pump 30 gpm at 1,300 psi,” Carroll says.

Carroll points out that HMA Fire has built 30-, 60-, and 90-gpm UHP skid unit systems using Waterous and Hale centrifugal pumps. “We build a 90-gpm system at 1,300 psi that will supply a 70-gpm bumper turret and a 20-gpm handline simultaneously,” he adds. “But the 20-gpm UHP is our most commonly used system. It can fit in the back of a pickup truck or be fitted into a small rescue.”

2 Darley makes the 2BE-23V UHP pump running at eight gpm at 1,300 psi that’s driven by a 23-hp Vanguard gasoline engine. Darley also makes the 2BE that’s driven by a Kubota 24-hp diesel engine. (Photo courtesy of W.S. Darley & Co.)

Kevin Quinn, president and owner of E.J. Metals, says his company makes UHP systems i

By Christian P. Koop

Fire rescue vehicles are some of the hardest and riskiest vehicles to drive in traffic. Imagine driving with the emergency lights on and sirens blaring!

They are not only large and cumbersome but forced to respond in high-traffic areas where the behavior of drivers is unpredictable. We hear all too often in the news about the unfortunate accidents involving fire apparatus. These accidents happen during emergency calls as well as during normal nonemergency driving. Some of these accidents are very serious, sometimes with fatalities involving the emergency response vehicle drivers and crew members as well as the public. To me, there is an obvious need to try and reduce these unfortunate accidents.

With the current trend toward autonomous and/or connected vehicles, how can we incorporate this technology to make fire rescue vehicles responding to emergency scenes safer? Adapting this technology to emergency response vehicles (ERVs) will make the ERV and its crew members safer, improve public safety, and also significantly reduce costs and downtime associated with collisions-not to mention reduce average departmental response times. The savings alone could pay for system enhancements.

Although manufacturers have been doing an outstanding job of testing their software and improving the quality of their vehicles, gaps will exist in vehicles that are connected. In addition, there is a world full of “bad guys” who will try to exploit these vulnerabilities.

Technology Terms

Let’s review some basic areas of these new technologies, excluding any unique equipment used by fire-rescue apparatus. The definitions below are basic and broad for the main purpose of providing some insight into this very large and complex area of ever-changing motor vehicle technology.

In-Vehicle Infotainment. Also referred to as IVI, these are systems that deliver entertainment and information such as audio content and navigation systems for driving that are available from several automobile manufacturers. These systems sometimes incorporate Bluetooth technology and/or smartphones for driver control through voice controls, manual controls, or touchscreen. These systems access the Internet for weather, traffic conditions, breaking news, and other public broadcast information. They also can provide movies, games, social networking, text messaging, and phone calls.

V2V Communication. This system essentially allows vehicles to communicate with those in close proximity to each other for the purpose of knowing exactly where they are on the roadway in distance from each other to provide drivers with warnings to avoid possible accidents. It is considered the next safety improvement for automobiles in the near future for the United States. It could be integrated into automated braking and steering systems as a collision avoidance system to reduce accidents on U.S. roadways.

ADAS. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems are primarily designed as collision avoidance systems for automobiles that will take over control or assist the driver to prevent an accident. Considered one the fastest-growing segments in the automotive industry, ADAS receives inputs from various data sources and vehicle systems including radar, LiDAR (similar to radar but using laser light), automotive imaging systems, in-car networking, V2V, and phones or WiFi data networks.

Autonomous. As the name implies, cars and trucks with this technology can drive themselves without human assistance or input. There is an argument that these vehicles are technically automated and not autonomous because someone (human) is deciding or requ