Fire ripped through a vacant home Friday morning sending smoke billowing into the air along I-5 in North Seattle. According to the Seattle Fire Department, firefighters were called around 8:00 a.m. to the home on 5th Ave. NE just west of the freeway. Firefighters said flames were shooting through the roof when they arrived.
- PUB DATE: 3/10/2023 3:25:07 PM - SOURCE: KCPQ-TV FOX 13 Tacoma

Firefighters with the Seattle Fire Department responded to a fully involved house fire in Wallingford Friday morning, according to video from the scene. At about 8:25 a.m., crews were arriving to the fire at a vacant house in the 4300 block of 5th Avenue Northeast. Firefighters on the scene reported seeing flames through the roof.
- PUB DATE: 3/10/2023 3:01:00 PM - SOURCE: KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle

PHOTOS: Police released surveillance photos of a suspected arsonist who allegedly started two fires near the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday morning, and they are offering a reward of up to $1,000 for any information that leads to an arrest and charges. The suspect is described as a Black man, 25-30 years old, with a medium build, according to the Tacoma Police Department, which said he was wearing black Adidas sweatpants with white stripes down the leg, black Nike shoes with a white swoosh, a white stocking cap and a gray backpack.
- PUB DATE: 3/10/2023 1:14:00 PM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

The city of Bristol, already building a new fire station, says it needs $1.6 million for a new truck and to hire more firefighters, WFSB.com reported.

A fire official said the population keeps growing but the size of the fire department stayed the same, making it hard for them to tackle multiple problems at once, the report said.

The finance board is trying to figure out how to get that money, the report said.

By Bill Adams

According to its website, all 382 pages of the newly crafted 2024 National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 1900: Standard for Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Vehicles, Automotive Fire Apparatus, Wildland Fire Apparatus, and Automotive Ambulances, 2024 Edition is available for $147.00 USD.

Burned Bottoms

What burns my bottom more than a fire in three-foot-high scrub brush is what I call “disingenuous” headlines when the media describes accidents involving fire apparatus. Unfortunately, there are some incidents that do involve fire apparatus operator error. And, it is tragic when death and injury is involved. However, it appears headlines are mostly written to infer all accidents and crashes are the fault of the fire truck. That’s not right – it’s downright misleading.

There’s a news media saying If it bleeds, it reads. The following is paraphrased from online research about the saying: “It is a mantra US marketing and media live by knowing that feeding people dull facts is not an effective tactic for capturing viewers’ attention.” It sucks. 

Here’s one headline: “Fire Truck Crashes During Emergency Call; Driver Cited with Failure to Yield.” Well, that’s appears to be a slap in the face to the fire department. The local citizenry may forever have disdain for the department if they failed to read the third paragraph where it said the driver of the vehicle that crashed into the fire truck was the one cited.

Here’s another: “The city’s newest million-dollar fire truck totaled in expressway crash.” Buried in the story was the fact the fire truck was appropriately parked when blocking traffic at another accident scene.” As long as I’m on a scorched bottom rampage, it amazes me why so many LDH equipped apparatus have multiple gated 2½-inch auxiliary suction inlets especially when they have two gated LDH inlets.  Granted they “might” be necessary if there’s a remote chance non-LDH equipped apparatus may be supplying the apparatus with multiple 2½-inch or 3-inch supply lines. But if everyone around you uses LDH, buy an LDH by a 2½-inch female adaptor for each of your gated LDH inlets – if you don’t already carry them! The adaptor is a lot cheaper than the entire 2½-inch gated inlet.

Cummins

Jim Lyons of J. Lyons Fire Consultants in Connecticut sent a link to a Linkedin – or Linkup or something like that – story about Cummins motors. Considering Cummins is a major player in the fire truck world, I thought I’d pass it on: 

“Another change for the North American Fire Service, when we least need it. For those of you who might not yet know, there are some major changes on the horizon from the largest engine manufacturer, Cummins. The current fire apparatus model lineup will change significantly. The popular legacy engines, the medium duty L-9 engine with 860 -1250 lb. Ft torque and the even more popular heavy-duty X-12 engine with 1250 – 1700 lb. Ft torque are going away! On 2/13/23 Cummins announced both engines would be replaced by the next engine in the fuel-agnostic series, the X-10. It will comply with 2027 US EPA regulations and is to be released in 2026, a full year early. Based on the information available, the expected medium-duty ratings of the X10 range from 320 to 380 hp with torque ratings of 1000 to 1250 lb-ft at 2100 rpm. For heavy-duty applications, the expected ratings are from 350 to 450 hp, with torque from 1350 to 1650 lb-ft at 1800 rpm. The new engine can be married to the Allison EVS series transmission, the model