Delivery of the Month

HME-Mallets Bay Fire Department, Colchester, VT, MiniEvo mini pumper. Ford F-550 Crew Cab XL 4x4 SD cab and chassis; Power Stroke 6.7-liter V8 OHV direct diesel engine; Hale DSD 1,500-gpm pump; 400-gallon polypropylene tank; seating for five. Dealer: Glenn Davis, Lakes Region Fire Apparatus Inc., West Ossipee, NH.

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PIERCE MANUFACTURING delivered a Pierce® Velocity™ pumper to the Jack Daniel's Fire Brigade in Lynchburg, Tennessee. The apparatus is custom-built to meet the unique emergency response challenges of the Jack Daniel's Distillery. Its graphics feature Jack Daniel's signature color scheme of black with white and gold accents. The apparatus is built on the Pierce Velocity chassis with a 600-horsepower engine. It has six 2.5-inch rear discharges that interface with an elaborate standpipe system installed throughout the Jack Daniel's distillery, bottling facilities, and warehousing area. The vehicle's firefighting system also features a 3,000-gpm pump, a Husky® 300 foam system, a 2,000-gallon foam tank, a 500-gallon water tank, a 2,000-pound dry chemical system, and an eight-inch Hydro-Chem deluge gun and nozzle.

The South Metro Fire Rescue Authority (SMFRA), headquartered in Centennial, Colorado, is partnering with Enterprise Fleet Management to optimize its local fleet of light-duty nonemergency vehicles and reduce costs. As part of its new fleet management strategy, SMFRA will reduce its current fleet by up to 10 vehicles and pool several others to increase use. Prior to the partnership, SMFRA managed 51 nonemergency vehicles that it replaced, on average, every 15 years. Enterprise Fleet Management will provide 31 new leased SUVs and pickup trucks and, once fully implemented, the partnership is estimated to save SMFRA $15,000 per year.

MIDWEST FIRE EQUIPMENT & REPAIR COMPANY (MIDWEST FIRE) announced that the company's owner and CEO Sarah Atchison was named one of the Top 25 Women in Business by Prairie Business magazine. Winners were selected from North Dakota, South Dakota, and western Minnesota based on their professional success as well contributions to their community. According to Prairie Business Editor Kris Bevill, "Sarah is a fairly new business owner compared to some of the other recipients, but we were impressed with her willingness to dive into a male-dominated industry after working in an unrelated field for years and almost immediately produce positive results for the company. Her passion for the firefighting and manufacturing industries and commitment to her employees cemented her place on our list."

PLYMOVENT CORP. has made a donation to "Comedy vs. Cancer," which took place at FDIC Inernational 2015 and is held by the Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN). All proceeds generated were used to aid FCSN members and their families in coping with cancer while also providing cancer awareness and prevention training worldwide. Plymovent values the health of firefighters and cares about the quality of the air they breathe. Plymovent strives to eliminate hazardous indoor air pollution conditions within the fire station.

BULLEX was the winner of two Manufacturing Leadership Awards during the same month it celebrated the 10th anniversary of its founding. The awards are given by the Manufacturing Leadership Council, a group of expert judges with expansive knowledge in the manufacturing industry. They are intended to recognize world-class manufacturing companies worldwide that are shaping the future of global manufacturing. In addition to winning in two categories, BullEx is also eligible for the High Achiever's Award and the 2014 Manufacturer of the Year award. Additionally, BullEx's Smart Class A technology won in the Sustainability Leadership Award category.

Two HME Model 34D-Type III's are heading to the San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District in Spring

Alan M. Petrillo

The Edgartown (MA) Fire Department, located on the island of Martha's Vineyard, has a number of unusual fire protection issues to deal with, notably tight, narrow streets in the old whaling village center of town; lots of large homes down long driveways in wooded areas not serviced by hydrants; and covering Chappaquiddick Island by way of a 60-foot-long wooden ferry.

Alex Schaeffer, Edgartown's deputy fire chief, says the department wanted to replace an older 26-foot-long, nine-foot-high pumper with a similar vehicle but one that included a larger water tank, pump-and-roll capability, and an expanded amount of compartment space. After checking with several manufacturers, Schaeffer says the truck committee determined that KME could best meet the department's needs.

"We had three meetings with the KME people and Bulldog Fire Apparatus before we awarded the contract," Schaeffer says. "We developed a good rapport and relationship with both of them and then had six more revision meetings after the contract was signed."

Maneuverability

Schaeffer points out that larger, longer fire trucks are difficult to maneuver around the island and generally can't fit on the boat to Chappaquiddick. "It's hard to get around our island with the bigger pumpers and trucks," he says. "We have a lot of narrow streets and some long, narrow driveways running to homes in the 10,000-square- foot range but that are nowhere near a hydrant. We wanted a short-wheelbase rescue-pumper that had an under-30-foot overall length and under-10-foot overall height that could carry as much water as possible and also have pump-and-roll capability. KME built us what we wanted."

The Edgartown (MA) Fire Department chose KME to build this rescue-pumper on a 176-inch wheelbase with a Hale 1,500-gpm midship pump, a Hale 160-gpm pump-and-roll pump, a 750-gallon water tank, a 15-gallon Class A foam cell, and a 30-gallon Class B foam cell. (Photos courtesy of KME.)

The end result was a rescue-pumper with a 176-inch wheelbase; 29-foot, three-inch overall length; and nine-foot, 9½-inch overall height carrying a Hale DSD 1,500-gallon-per-minute (gpm) midship pump, a 750-gallon water tank, a 15-gallon Class A foam cell, a 30-gallon Class B foam cell, a Hale HP100 160-gpm pump-and-roll pump, and a Waterous Advantus 6 foam system, says Jason Witmier, product manager of aerials for KME. "The shorter wheelbase and overall length allowed us to give them a good angle of departure, which was very important when they were putting the vehicle on the small ferry," Witmier says. "The rear of the vehicle's body is higher than the front, allowing us a 16-degree loaded angle of departure to allow safe loading onto the ferry."

Water Delivery

To shrink the pump house to allow the smaller wheelbase, KME used all Elkhart Brass electric valves. But, the Edgartown firefighters had lingering concerns about going all electric, so KME mounted the electric valves down lo

By Alan M. Petrillo

Fire station bay doors serve a number of functions: allowing quick and safe egress of fire apparatus; sealing out heat, cold, and inclement weather; and lending a visual appeal to the aesthetics of the building.

It's those main considerations, along with cost and maintenance factors, that fire department personnel and designers keep in mind when putting bay doors on new fire stations or outfitting older stations with newer model doors.

Four-Fold Doors

Steve Bonacci, assistant sales manager for Electric Power Door, says his company has been in the door business for 93 years and he's spent 40 years with them. "Fire departments generally have three choices for their apparatus bay doors," Bonacci points out. "The least expensive is an overhead sectional door. Then there's the rolling steel door, which is essentially a curtain that rolls up. Third, there's the four-fold door."

Bonacci notes that four-fold doors are bi-fold doors that split in the middle and open both to the left and right. "We only market four-fold doors for fire stations because they are high-cycle and low-maintenance," he says. "They are custom-designed, and owners can spec what they want-how many windows, an arched opening, or wood cladding over the steel. The sky's the limit as to the design."

The Sacramento (CA) Fire Department chose to install Electric Power Door four-fold doors on its Fire Station Number 5. (Photo courtesy of Electric Power Door.)

Four-fold doors can be engineered to be hurricane- and tornado-resistant, Bonacci says, or even bullet- and blast-resistant if needed. "We can cover all the boundaries a station may need."

Kevin Landgraff, sales manager for Door Engineering and Manufacturing, says four-fold doors have been growing slowly in popularity for the past dozen years or so. "Four-fold doors are the main product we make for fire station apparatus bays," he says. "They have an advantage in operational speed, opening in less than seven seconds, and also are energy-efficient in keeping heating and cooling losses to a minimum. Many of them have large glass panels in them that are one-inch, insulated, low-E, tinted high-performance glass."

Besides performance and speed, four-fold doors also have the advantage that there is no wear like that on critical components at the top of overhead sectional or rolling steel doors. "With a four-panel door, you have two panels folding off to each side, operated by an overhead mounting that rotates to pull the door open and push it closed," Landgraff says. "Perhaps a weather seal may wear out with age, but that won't affect the operation of the door."

Hormann-Flexon installed its Speed Guardian 4000 rolling steel doors at the El Paso (TX) Fire Department's Station 37. (Photo courtesy of Hormann-Flexon.)

Landgraff says that Door Engineering and Manufacturing, which has be

Robert Tutterow

How do we define a truly functional and sustainable fire station? The F.I.E.R.O. Fire Station Symposium, occurring September 28-30 at the Raleigh Sheraton Hotel, is the place to find out.

Fire stations are fascinating facilities. They can be an iconic source of pride for a community or just another nondescript public facility. Because of their complexity, only a handful of architects are experienced enough to design a truly functional and sustainable facility. They are complex in that they can have any of the following elements: garage, restaurant, dormitory, family room, classroom, offices, repair shops, warehouse, fitness room, decontamination room, community rooms, training props, museum, and other elements particular to a community. Each of the elements has unique characteristics to the fire service.

A veteran metro fire chief once said the two most difficult things about a fire station are putting one in a neighborhood and taking one out of a neighborhood. Unfortunately, most news stories about fire stations involve community push back when a new station in proposed-i.e., NIMBY. To address this situation, one of the F.I.E.R.O. Symposium presentations will be by Dennis Ross, titled "Gaining and Maintaining Community Support." For many fire personnel, the design and building of a fire station is a once-in-a-career challenge. Ken Newell's presentation titled "Where Do I Start" is ideal for setting the stage for a station that meets the fire department's and community's needs. There will also be a presentation on site selection and a "Firehouse Design 101" presentation.

Safety and Health

As this is a safety column, I would be remiss if I did not mention fire station safety. Having reviewed almost 3,000 firefighter personal injury reports during my career, I was astonished at how many occurred in and around the fire station. Fortunately, most were minor injuries, but there were a notable number that led to lost time and high workers' compensation costs. In fact, the most expensive workers' compensation case during my 24 years as health and safety officer occurred as the result of a slide-pole injury to a civilian employee. Though not firefighter-related, the costs and impact on that person and the city were the same as if it happened to a firefighter. Slips, falls, sprains, and strains are common fire station injuries. Kevin Roche will give a presentation about safety in the fire station. He has a very comprehensive list of station-related safety and health issues, complete with photos, that is historically one of the highest rated presentations.

Cancer and Fire Stations

Cancer is the silent killer of firefighters, and the fire station has been referred to as a collection point for carcinogens for fire incidents. Note the use of the word "collection" rather than "containment." I think the fire station is a distribution point for carcinogens as firefighters often carry contaminated gear with them when they leave the station. In addition, we allow the public to touch, wear, and handle contaminated gear and equipment during station tours. To learn ways to minimize this risk, Paul Erickson of LeMay Erickson Willcox Architects will present "Hot Zone Design: Contain the Contaminants." This is a concept he has pioneered.

An additional health and safety presentation related to cancer will be given by Kirk Owen, retired assistant chief with the Plano (TX) Fire Department and past chair of the National Fire Protect