The extrication world has lost a giant. David Dalrymple, longtime FDIC instructor, Fire Engineering author, Fire Engineering Books DVD author, and Training Minutes video host, has passed away from complications from pneumonia. He was 60.
Dalrymple was a rescue consultant/educator for RoadwayRescue LLC, teaching extrication to responders throughout the United States and internationally. He had been involved with emergency services for 40 years and has been teaching transportation rescue topics for more than 27 years. In 2007, he received the Harvey Grant award for excellence in rescue education. He was a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers task force on hybrids and electric vehicles for first and second responders and the former education chair for TERC-US, a group tasked with providing educational guidance and assessment for extrication challenges in the United States. He was certified as an international level extrication assessor and was a member of the International Council on Motorsport Sciences. He developed the Rally Safety educational program series that is partnered with the SFI Foundation. He published articles on transportation rescue topics on a local, regional, national, and international level.
Dalrymple was featured in the Fire & Safety Journal Americas 2025 Special Influencers Edition (January 2025 issue), where he said, “We need to ‘learn to read’ crashed vehicles better. We must be smarter and understand how crashes injure occupants.” He was very humbled to receive the honor, he said.
Battalion Chief (Ret.) Leigh Hollins, Cedar Hammock (FL) Fire Rescue, a fellow extrication instructor at FDIC, said, “Dave Dalrymple (Double D as I affectionately called him) had a huge impact on the fire rescue service. Dave’s knowledge in the field of vehicle extrication, hybrid vehicles, and new vehicle technology was matched by very few people. Dave shared this knowledge through his teachings, writings, and videos that enhanced the knowledge of thousands of responders. Having taught with Dave in the past, I had a first-hand look at his expertise in the discipline of vehicle extrication. His leadership and work through RoadwayRescue LLC & TERC (Transportation Emergency Rescue Committee) has changed the way vehicle extrication is performed. Double D definitely had the ‘Pass It On’ mentality, and his participation and knowledge will be sorely missed.”
Captain Todd Taylor, Wayne Township (IN) Fire Department, said, “Dave dedicated his life to vehicle rescue. It didn’t matter what type of vehicle it was, raising or passenger cars, he wanted to know how to rescue someone from it. Dave shared so much. He will be missed by all.”
Jason Defosse, Rescue Specialist/FDIC Lead Instructor, Defosse Extrication & Consulting Inc.: “Dave’s knowledge and passion for education, specifically on extrication, has impacted thousands of first responders around the world, including myself, and was inspired by his teachings. His desire to always be a subject matter expert in his work through Fire Engineering and FDIC must be recognized, as we are all students of Dave’s. I took my first class with him back in 2010 as a student, and I attended his lecture. His easygoing demeanor made him very approachable. I remember him telling me, specifically when performing extrication evolutions, the importance of peeling and peeking because it’s not what you see–it’s what you don’t see that can get you into trouble. If I was to even try to summarize some of Dave’s work, I would say that he was a constant educator and, in the spirit of rescue, sincerely tried to help those who help others.”
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Posted: May 21, 2025
Apparatus Ideas Bob Vaccaro
The Refugio (TX) Volunteer Fire Department is located approximately 50 miles northeast of Corpus Christi. The response area is mostly rural and covers a great distance, according to Chief Ronnie Williams.
“Our response area covers a small populated area but, overall, it is roughly 374 square miles of rural land. The area contains oil fields and a great deal of family-owned land areas. There are no fire hydrants, so we have to bring our own water supply for firefighting,” he says.
The department has 34 volunteer firefighters who not only respond to its own alarms but provide mutual aid to neighboring communities as well. Its response district has Interstate 69 running through it, where it responds to numerous vehicle collisions. It also has the mainline of the Union Pacific Railroad, which has one train per hour running through the area. “This alone gives our department exposure to possible hazmat situations,” says Williams. “When we began designing this new apparatus, we had several goals in mind. We would be replacing two previous vehicles—a 1976, which carried 200 gallons, and a 1980, which carried 1,300 gallons of water. These two pieces of apparatus were getting old and were giving us maintenance issues, so it was time for them to be replaced.”
Williams said the new vehicle had to be able to handle hazmat, heavy rescue, and general firefighting responses. It needed to carry a FOLD-A-TANK 3,500-gallon portable tank and have larger compartments not only for current equipment but for future equipment additions as well. The department also increased the vent size to offload water at a faster rate. “We hired and worked with a fire protection consultant on the specs, which was a great help to us,” says Williams. “To begin the bidding process, the department sent out RFPs to five fire apparatus manufacturers, and four ultimately bid on the truck that met our specs.”
1 The Refugio Fire Department’s pumper-tanker is built on a Kenworth T880 chassis with body by US Fire Apparatus. (Photos courtesy of US Fire Apparatus.)
2 The rear of the rig with the Newton swivel dump valve.
The department wanted either a Kenworth or a Peterbilt chassis that would hold the weight of the water, carry all its equipment, and not be top heavy. This new apparatus would roll second due and be responsible for supplying water to the first-due engines.
The apparatus committee consisted of two captains and one chief, who traveled to the US Fire Apparatus factory for the preconstruction meeting. It also did a virtual midpoint inspection, with the final inspection being done on site. “We were really impressed with their operation,” says Williams. “The workmanship and final product met all of our expectations. The vehicle works flawlessly.”
The department went with an aluminum body that it felt would hold up well. It carries normal engine company tools and fittings as well as forcible entry tools and extriction tools. Williams says the larger compartments provide the department with much more room for equipment storage.
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Posted: May 21, 2025
Emry Dinman
The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
(TNS)
May 20—A Spokane woman will receive up to $180,000 to settle a claim for damages three months after a city fire truck slid down an icy hill and struck her home.
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On Feb. 6, a Spokane Fire truck was responding to a fire alarm when it slid down an icy hill on West Fleming Place into a home on North Greenwood Boulevard near Browne Elementary. A separate fire engine responding to the same call also lost traction on the hill not long after, sliding into two unoccupied cars and causing moderate damage, according to a news release at the time. No one was injured.
At the time, the house was deemed stable enough to live in by a city engineer; however, City Financial Officer Matt Boston on Monday said there were concerns that the homeowner, Lynda Congrove, did not have the funds to promptly fix the damage. That could have forced her out of her home, prompting a faster settlement.
The settlement approved Monday by the Spokane City Council immediately authorizes a $90,000 payment to the homeowner’s daughter, Kelli True, though the settlement covers up to double that amount, depending on final costs for repairs.
© 2025 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.). Visit www.spokesman.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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The post Up to $180K Awarded to Spokane (WA) Woman Whose Home Was Hit by Sliding Fire Truck appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.
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Posted: May 21, 2025
The Ashton (IL) Fire Protection District covers the village of Ashton and 75 square miles of the mostly rural surrounding area in Lee County from one station with 25 volunteer firefighters.
The district’s fleet includes an Alexis engine with a 1,250-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump and a 1,200-gallon water tank; an American LaFrance pumper on a Freightliner chassis with a 1,500-gpm pump, a 750-gallon water tank, and a 20-gallon foam tank; an International brush truck with a 250-gpm pump and a 200-gallon water tank; a Midwest Fire tanker with a 3,000-gallon water tank and a 3,500-portable water tank; and Road Rescue and MedTec basic life support (BLS) ambulances.
The pumper-tanker carries a 3,000-gallon portable water tank in a Zico electric tip-down portable tank carrier on the rig’s left side.
Ashton Fire Lieutenant Kraig Hickey says the district wanted to replace a 1983 GMC Brigadier 2,000-gallon tanker with a new rig that has a pump, a larger water tank, and a turret at the front bumper. “We basically wanted a pumper-tanker that had all the features that could serve as a first attack engine, especially during the daytime when we have limited staffing, yet still could function as a tanker when circumstances dictated it,” Hickey points out.
Hickey says that because the district had a good relationship with Midwest Fire when it purchased a tanker from the company about 10 years ago, Ashton decided to have Midwest Fire build its new pumper-tanker.
The rig carries its ground ladders in a Zico electric ladder drop-down rack on the vehicle’s right side.
Newt Johnson, account representative for Midwest Fire Equipment, talked with the district’s firefighters about their needs and acknowledged the requirement to carry a large amount of water, as well as to be able to use the rig as an initial attack apparatus when necessary. “The pumper-tanker Midwest Fire built for Ashton is on a Freightliner M2 112 two-door cab and chassis powered by a 450-horsepower (hp) Cummins L9 engine and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission,” Johnson says.
Wheelbase on the pumper-tanker is 228 inches, the overall length is 34 feet and the overall height is 9 feet 6 inches, Johnson says, and the rig has a Waterous CX 1,250-gpm side-mount pump, and a 3,000-gallon All-Po
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