For nearly a dozen years, top officials at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection knowingly withheld death benefits from the families of 14 contracted firefighter pilots killed in the line of duty, according to a claim that seeks more than $4 million plus interest for the survivors.
- PUB DATE: 8/11/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: sacramento bee

A pile of rags soaked with wood stain left in direct sunlight is being blamed for a 2-acre brush fire south of West Seattle. The fire erupted down a steep embankment early Monday afternoon in the 10900 block of 39th Avenue Southwest. Several homeowners called 911 saying they saw smoke billowing into the sky.
- PUB DATE: 8/10/2015 5:16:41 PM - SOURCE: KCPQ-TV FOX 13

Alan M. Petrillo

Fairbanks is Alaska's second largest city and it serves as a rail, air, and water transportation hub in the northern part of the state.

Accordingly, when spec'ing out a new heavy rescue, the Fairbanks (AK) Fire Department wanted a vehicle that would carry an array of rescue equipment for vehicle extrication, water and ice rescue, industrial extrication, and confined space situations.

1 The most unusual feature of the Fairbanks (AK) Fire Department heavy rescue built by SVI Trucks is the Liberator 3200 crane that lifts a 14-foot rigid-hull inflatable boat from its storage spot on the rescue's roof. Also on top are coffin compartments and a Command Light 9,000-watt light tower. (Photos courtesy of SVI Trucks.)

Planning for Now and Beyond

Brian Davis, Fairbanks battalion chief, says the department did a needs assessment and determined what functions the heavy rescue would face in the future. "We determined what we need right now and also what we might need 20 to 25 years in the future," Davis says. "We wanted to anticipate what additional roles the vehicle might have. It might evolve into a rapid intervention team (RIT) vehicle, a ladder tender to reduce the wear on our platforms, or some other role."

Davis points out that water rescue and vehicle rescue are the two most common types of rescues to which the Fairbanks Fire Department responds. "That drove the design of the vehicle," he says. "We like the Spartan chassis, so we did a sole-source requirement for a Spartan chassis and then put out our open bid specs. We sent the bids out widely; got three responses; and, after review, gave the contract to SVI Trucks through True North Emergency Equipment."

Challenging Design

Bob Sorensen, vice president of sales for SVI Trucks, says that building the Fairbanks heavy rescue was the type of challenge that his company likes to face. "It's not every day that we are building a truck with a small crane on it, but we have done it a number of times before," Sorensen says. "Besides that challenge, there was a lot of equipment that had to be placed on the vehicle."

2 The heavy rescue also carries a FrostFighter 250,000-Btu diesel-fired fresh air heater that the department uses to keep vehicle accident victims warm in winter during a rescue.

Davis notes that the Fairbanks Fire Department had issues with pulling a boat trailer with its previous rescue. "It was difficult, and sometimes impossible, to back up in tight spots, so we wanted to carry our 14-foot rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) on the rescue itself."

Sorensen points out that SVI came up with the idea of carrying the RHIB on the roof of the heavy rescue, in between coffin compartments on each side. SVI had built a rescue for a Colorado fire department where an RHIB was stored on the rescue's roof, but that department found it took four firefighters to pull the boat off the roof. "With Fairbanks, we put a Liberator 3200 series crane on the roof and, using a wireless remote, a single person can lift the boat and set it down on the ground or in the water," Sorensen

By Alan M. Petrillo

Getting firefighters off the tops of vehicles was a main reason for introducing remote control monitors, but since they first made their appearance on the tops of pumpers and at the tips of aerials, advances in electronics, networking, and new design concepts have turned them into much desired and used pieces of equipment on fire trucks.

Durability and Networking

Eric Combs, vice president of OEM business for Elkhart Brass Company, says Elkhart Brass has two primary focus areas when it comes to remote control monitors. "The first revolves around the robustness, reliability, and durability of the monitor," Combs points out. "Some early-technology electric-mechanical monitors had reliability issues that caused a concern for fire departments when shifting from manual monitors. But through technological advancements, we developed a more robust and rugged product through use of a potting material, basically a liquid plastic, that hardens and encases circuit boards and makes it impossible for water to get in and also helps prevent vibration from cracking the boards."

1 The Task Force Tips Monsoon remote control monitor is rated at 2,000 gpm but can be run in the 2,250-gpm range. (Photo courtesy of Task Force Tips.)

Elkhart Brass's other primary focus area concerns integrating the monitor with a truck's CANBUS J-1939 system, Combs notes. "In the past you had to open up the unit and get to the circuit board to change settings," he says. "Now we do it through communications where we can change the stow position, flow rate, oscillation, or anything else and even download diagnostics. You never need to touch the circuit board anymore."

Elkhart Brass makes the EXM line of remote control monitors, all of which use the same controller program and the design feature of potting the circuit board, Combs says. The Sidewinder EXM is a bumper turret monitor ranging from 15 to 750 gallons per minute (gpm), the Cobra EXM runs from 500 to 1,500 gpm, the Scorpion EXM from 1,250 to 2,500 gpm, the newly launched SkyStream EXM at 3,000 gpm, and the Sidewinder EXM UHP ultra-high pressure monitor up to 300 gpm at 1,500 pounds per square inch (psi).

Jeff Benson, global product manager for Akron Brass Company, says the company has been making remote control monitors for more than 15 years and, in the past few years, made changes in their control architecture. "We now use the Universal 2 logic box, which has the advantage of ease of installation for OEMs," Benson says. "It greatly reduced the necessary wiring and introduced networking features that operate through the truck's CANBUS J-1939 communication capabilities."

2 The Tornado, Task Force Tips's remote control monitor, is commonly used in a bumper turret configuration on wildland and brush trucks. (Photo courtesy of Task Force Tips.)

In remote control versions, Akron Brass makes the 3462 forestry monitor that ranges from 30 to 300 gpm, the 3418 Apollo electric that runs up to 1,250 gpm, and the StreamMaster II in 1,500- and 2,000-gpm versions. "They all use the Onboard control system," Benson points out, "and all have J-1939 connectivity." The forestry monitor typically is used on a bumper turret, he adds, while the Apollo usually is