By Carl J. Haddon

How many times in a week, a month, a year, or a career do our lives and the lives of those we serve rely on good cribbing, shoring, and stabilization materials and practices?

I’m an older dog, but I personally can answer that question with a single word: many. Regardless of whether you use wood cribbing or shoring lumber a lot or only occasionally, how much do you really know about the wood you bet your life, your crew’s lives, and your patient’s life on?

Allow me to offer a basic checklist of questions for you and your department to consider about the wood you choose or use for your cribbing and other stabilization needs:

• What kind of wood is your cribbing made from?
• What loads is your wood cribbing rated for?
• How old is your cribbing?
• How long have you had it in service?
• When was the last time you inspected your cribbing or lumber, and what do you inspect for?

Fact: Most of us don’t have enough compartment space (on our apparatus) to carry all of the cribbing and lumber that we may require.

Fact: Many departments have implemented agreements with local lumber yards or home improvement stores to quickly provide them with emergency cribbing or shoring lumber day or night.

Fact: Wood cribbing placed under load force will make tell-tale noises before it catastrophically fails.

Let’s look at some of the checklist questions, and why I pose them.

What Kind of Wood?

Where in this country you work will often determine the type of wood that is available for your cribbing and shoring. In the East and Midwest, we find lots of cribbing made from oak. West of the Mississippi, I find lots of pine and fir being used, as oak typically is not available. Even though oak is a far denser wood than pine and fir, and most often thought of as a better wood for cribbing, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) engineers disagree because hardwoods like oak are denser, provide fewer warning signs, and catastrophically fail much faster than softwoods do.

1 What kind of wood is your cribbing made from? The region of the country in which you work will often determine the type of wood that is available for your cribbing and shoring. (Photos by author.)

What’s It Rated for?

Although I’ve never seen a load or pounds-per-square inch (psi) rating stamped into wood cribbing, I understand that a typical #1 Grade yellow pine or fir, 4 × 4, for example, is rated at roughly 6,000 psi for a single point of contact. Even if all pieces of wood cribbing had load rating stamps on them, so what? Let’s be real-when lives hang in the balance (especially our own), are we going to look at each and every piece of cribbing to make sure it is all the same type of wood and all the same age before we do the complex calculations to figure out if the type of stack that we build will hold the weight? I’ve seen and memorized the FEMA and Army Corps of Engineers charts on weight capacities for wood stack cribbing. I’ve also seen the results when crib stacks catastrophically fail in dire

By Bill Adams

This article continues the analysis and discussion of used fire apparatus sales, an often overlooked segment of the apparatus market that could be worth well over $70 million per year.

Glenn Usdin, owner of Command Fire Apparatus in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; Jim Keltner, owner of Jon’s Mid America Fire Apparatus in Rogersville, Missouri; Greg Still, owner of Missouri Fire Apparatus in Grovespring, Missouri; Barbara Bauman, co-owner with Jennifer Bauman of FIRETEC in Randolph, Vermont; James Wessel, owner of Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus in Union Grove, Alabama; and Brian Reyburn, co-owner with Stuart and Cindy Reyburn of FireTrucks, Unlimited, in Henderson, Nevada, provide comments. They answered some specific questions regarding the used apparatus market.

At what age does a rig’s resale value significantly decrease?

Usdin: “The key points in the value of a used unit are five to seven years, 10 years, and then 20 years. Each of those age marks represents a significant point of notice in the value of a used unit.”

Still: “20 years.”

Baumann: “By 10 years of age, it’s worth about half the original purchase price.”

Reyburn: “It all depends on what kind of rig it is, but 10 to 15 years old is a typical disposal time for departments. Some departments dispose of a rig because it is scheduled to be disposed of, but in many cases the truck still has a lot of life left. Trucks over 15 years old start to decrease in value at a more rapid pace. We have seen the resale value reduced when trucks have been taken out of service but not sold for five years or more.”

Wessel: “15 years.”

At what mileage does a rig’s resale value significantly decrease?

Usdin: “100,000 miles is a hard number for many used purchasers to get out of their heads. Rural departments that might not put 1,000 miles a year on a unit have a hard time with the concept of a 10-year-old unit getting 10,000 miles per year.”

Keltner: “50,000, depending on the rig.”

Still: “Over 50,000 miles and then 100,000 usually results in the vehicle being sold for salvage pricing.”

Baumann: “Rigs with over 100,000 miles are hard to move unless there happens to be an over-the-road trucker on the department. High mileage does not scare those folks.”

Reyburn: “If a used rig has less than 100,000 miles, that’s more attractive to buyers.”

Wessel: “100,000 miles.”

1 A 2010 Sutphen midmount platform and a 2006 Rosenbauer rear-mount platform recently delivered. James Wessel, owner, Brindlee Mountan Fire Apparatus, says, “We keep about 20 to 30 aerials available in our yard and usually have a couple hundred available on our Web site.” (Photos courtesy of Brindlee Mountan Fire Apparatus.)

Is there a certain number of pump hours that decreases a rig’s value?

Usdin: “Pump hours are always so low that it’s not a factor. The key factor is passing a pump test at the time of sale.”

Keltner: 

By Bill Adams

This article continues the analysis and discussion of used fire apparatus sales, an often overlooked segment of the apparatus market that could be worth well over $70 million per year.

Glenn Usdin, owner of Command Fire Apparatus in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; Jim Keltner, owner of Jon’s Mid America Fire Apparatus in Rogersville, Missouri; Greg Still, owner of Missouri Fire Apparatus in Grovespring, Missouri; Barbara Bauman, co-owner with Jennifer Bauman of FIRETEC in Randolph, Vermont; James Wessel, owner of Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus in Union Grove, Alabama; and Brian Reyburn, co-owner with Stuart and Cindy Reyburn of FireTrucks, Unlimited, in Henderson, Nevada, provide comments. They answered some specific questions regarding the used apparatus market.

At what age does a rig’s resale value significantly decrease?

Usdin: “The key points in the value of a used unit are five to seven years, 10 years, and then 20 years. Each of those age marks represents a significant point of notice in the value of a used unit.”

Still: “20 years.”

Baumann: “By 10 years of age, it’s worth about half the original purchase price.”

Reyburn: “It all depends on what kind of rig it is, but 10 to 15 years old is a typical disposal time for departments. Some departments dispose of a rig because it is scheduled to be disposed of, but in many cases the truck still has a lot of life left. Trucks over 15 years old start to decrease in value at a more rapid pace. We have seen the resale value reduced when trucks have been taken out of service but not sold for five years or more.”

Wessel: “15 years.”

At what mileage does a rig’s resale value significantly decrease?

Usdin: “100,000 miles is a hard number for many used purchasers to get out of their heads. Rural departments that might not put 1,000 miles a year on a unit have a hard time with the concept of a 10-year-old unit getting 10,000 miles per year.”

Keltner: “50,000, depending on the rig.”

Still: “Over 50,000 miles and then 100,000 usually results in the vehicle being sold for salvage pricing.”

Baumann: “Rigs with over 100,000 miles are hard to move unless there happens to be an over-the-road trucker on the department. High mileage does not scare those folks.”

Reyburn: “If a used rig has less than 100,000 miles, that’s more attractive to buyers.”

Wessel: “100,000 miles.”

1 A 2010 Sutphen midmount platform and a 2006 Rosenbauer rear-mount platform recently delivered. James Wessel, owner, Brindlee Mountan Fire Apparatus, says, “We keep about 20 to 30 aerials available in our yard and usually have a couple hundred available on our Web site.” (Photos courtesy of Brindlee Mountan Fire Apparatus.)

Is there a certain number of pump hours that decreases a rig’s value?

Usdin: “Pump hours are always so low that it’s not a factor. The key factor is passing a pump test at the time of sale.”

Keltner: 

By Bill Adams

This article continues the analysis and discussion of used fire apparatus sales, an often overlooked segment of the apparatus market that could be worth well over $70 million per year.

Glenn Usdin, owner of Command Fire Apparatus in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; Jim Keltner, owner of Jon’s Mid America Fire Apparatus in Rogersville, Missouri; Greg Still, owner of Missouri Fire Apparatus in Grovespring, Missouri; Barbara Bauman, co-owner with Jennifer Bauman of FIRETEC in Randolph, Vermont; James Wessel, owner of Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus in Union Grove, Alabama; and Brian Reyburn, co-owner with Stuart and Cindy Reyburn of FireTrucks, Unlimited, in Henderson, Nevada, provide comments. They answered some specific questions regarding the used apparatus market.

At what age does a rig’s resale value significantly decrease?

Usdin: “The key points in the value of a used unit are five to seven years, 10 years, and then 20 years. Each of those age marks represents a significant point of notice in the value of a used unit.”

Still: “20 years.”

Baumann: “By 10 years of age, it’s worth about half the original purchase price.”

Reyburn: “It all depends on what kind of rig it is, but 10 to 15 years old is a typical disposal time for departments. Some departments dispose of a rig because it is scheduled to be disposed of, but in many cases the truck still has a lot of life left. Trucks over 15 years old start to decrease in value at a more rapid pace. We have seen the resale value reduced when trucks have been taken out of service but not sold for five years or more.”

Wessel: “15 years.”

At what mileage does a rig’s resale value significantly decrease?

Usdin: “100,000 miles is a hard number for many used purchasers to get out of their heads. Rural departments that might not put 1,000 miles a year on a unit have a hard time with the concept of a 10-year-old unit getting 10,000 miles per year.”

Keltner: “50,000, depending on the rig.”

Still: “Over 50,000 miles and then 100,000 usually results in the vehicle being sold for salvage pricing.”

Baumann: “Rigs with over 100,000 miles are hard to move unless there happens to be an over-the-road trucker on the department. High mileage does not scare those folks.”

Reyburn: “If a used rig has less than 100,000 miles, that’s more attractive to buyers.”

Wessel: “100,000 miles.”

1 A 2010 Sutphen midmount platform and a 2006 Rosenbauer rear-mount platform recently delivered. James Wessel, owner, Brindlee Mountan Fire Apparatus, says, “We keep about 20 to 30 aerials available in our yard and usually have a couple hundred available on our Web site.” (Photos courtesy of Brindlee Mountan Fire Apparatus.)

Is there a certain number of pump hours that decreases a rig’s value?

Usdin: “Pump hours are always so low that it’s not a factor. The key factor is passing a pump test at the time of sale.”

Keltner: 

By Steve Rowland

Member companies of the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association (FAMA) are involved in the manufacturing and innovation of fire and rescue vehicles.

The overriding focus of the FAMA Technical Committee is safety and encouragement to follow operation and vehicle maintenance best practices. The safety of pedestrians at fire and emergency scenes is one of the newer areas receiving manufacturers’ attention-both civilian and responder.

We live in a world of data. Within seconds, a Google search for “fire truck injuries” produces pages of results relating to firefighter injuries or deaths from apparatus crashes. Whether they are links to in-depth studies from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), or other industry organizations, many results point to persons injured in a crash involving an emergency vehicle. However, an Internet search for “pedestrians injured by fire rescue vehicles” returns anecdotal reports of persons hit while crossing in front of moving emergency vehicles. In response, several FAMA companies are proactively offering solutions intended to reduce pedestrian injuries or deaths by emergency vehicles.

The Backup Alarm

A long-existing requirement in NFPA standards, the backup alarm is still often viewed as a pesky annoyance by many apparatus operators. Often, the ability to cancel or mute the backup alarm is available in manufacturers’ specifications because of frequent requests from apparatus purchasers. I simply offer this parallel to the reader: Since the PASS device has a loud, shrill, and annoying tone, should the firefighter be able to mute it before entering the building on an interior attack because it might bother others? The answer is a resounding no. The backup alarm provides an audible alert to pedestrians to beware and be alert because something is backing up. Please use it.

Supplemental Lighting

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) require reverse lighting on vehicles. However, the lighting is specifically designed not to be excessively bright to avoid blinding fellow motorists in parking lots, driveways, or other routine scenarios. Emergency apparatus have any number of other lighting devices available to supplement the FMVSS requirements while backing. Departments may consider linking emergency lighting, rear scene lighting, and side scene lighting to the reverse gear so that they come on automatically while the vehicle is backing up. As in the case of the backup alarm, all of this supplemental lighting can be “annoying,” but safety and effectiveness should take priority over convenience and comfort.

Camera Systems

Several FAMA member companies are in the business of providing camera technology for emergency apparatus. Whether incorporated into side view mirrors, tied into multiplexing displays, or as a standalone system, video technology has advanced to the point where nearly all common blind spots are now visible to the operator, no matter what the operation. Gaining popularity are systems that provide a “bird’s-eye” or 360-degree overhead view of the apparatus made possible by a multicamera system calibrated together. Consider camera technology options when specifying new products or refurbishing older vehicles in your fleet.

Radar Systems

Perhaps the latest emerging technology comes from the personal vehicle market. Although radar backup sensors have been used for some time, new to the market are sophisticated full-vehicle radar systems that alert the driver to brake if his vehicle approaches another from behind too quickly; sense and provide an alert when vehicles are present on either side of