By Bill Adams

The fire apparatus industry and the American fire service in particular may not have felt the full impact of the fiscal uncertainty in today's marketplace.

It is immaterial if the nation's sour mood is caused by unemployment, the health care debate, economic recession, individual financial depression, or political ineptitude. Taxpayers appear to be apprehensive, wary, and reluctant to authorize large expenditures. Whatever uptick the apparatus industry may have recently experienced might be in jeopardy domestically. This article looks at possible pitfalls an apparatus purchasing committee (APC) may encounter in the future.

The good old days when buying a fire truck was fun, easy, and gratifying could be a thing of the past. Fire departments, accustomed to writing purchasing specifications (specs) for exactly what they wanted, went through their purchasing processes with little attention and few questions from the public. Exercise caution. Times are changing. Affluent communities may not be affected, but fire departments in cash-strapped municipalities will be lucky if they can purchase what they may desperately need just to stay effectually operational. Regularly scheduled apparatus replacement programs may be a thing of the past.

Fiscal Responsibility

Disgruntled taxpayers may demand public officials, including fire departments, exercise fiscal self-discipline. If the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) does not show fiscal restraint, the citizenry may do it for it. An APC may not consider itself as comprising public officials, but it is-acting as a legal representative of the AHJ. Doubt it? Ask your attorney.

Fire apparatus are expensive-probably the most expensive vehicle a municipality will purchase. Being a big-ticket and highly visible item, they'll probably be one of the first things on a political subdivision's fiscal chopping block. APCs would be wise to prepare themselves for a possible onslaught of financially strapped taxpayers demanding to know why the fire department needs a new rig, why the one it wants is so expensive, and why it can't buy a cheaper one or recondition the one it has. APCs should preplan their responses very carefully as questions may have to be answered in a public forum.

It may not only be angry taxpayers an APC faces. The AHJ may be an elected body of politicos not directly affiliated with the fire department. Be aware, AHJs are not required to have an obligatory allegiance to the fire department. A politician confronted by unhappy constituents with the power of the vote may side with his political future rather than the fire department's request to replace a 25-year-old pumper. Whether for political showmanship, reelection purposes, or a genuine concern for fiscal responsibility, an AHJ can grill a purchasing committee just as aggressively and intensely as an irate taxpayer. Don't become complacent-you may get thrown under the duals.

Internal Strife

Few in the fire service will admit and fewer will address the fact that conflict can come from within. In the volunteer sector, disillusioned members may take advantage of the economy to express their personal displeasure with a new purchase. Older members may reflect their desire to return to the good old days by disparaging or voting against purchasing a new rig. It's not right, but it happens. The days of riding the rear step, open cabs, and rubber coats are gone. Past-their-prime members should acknowledge it is someone else's turn. Decision makers today should take care not to confuse experience and knowledge with animosity and jealousy. Doing so may come back to bite them.

Personality clashes can also occur in the career sector, although repercussions there can be swift, harsh, and final. Both management and labor must struggle with priorities in times of dwindling resources. Is the cost of two new safe and reli

By Chris Mc Loone

It was August 1993 when I was voted into active membership at Weldon Fire Company in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

Our apparatus fleet at the time consisted of two twin engines and a heavy rescue truck. We were in the process of turning over the township's air unit to a new owner and taking delivery in 1994 of a Saulsbury air unit on a Chevrolet chassis, which is still in service today.

The rescue was a 1989 Spartan/Saulsbury walk-through that seated 14. The engines were twin 1981 American LaFrances (ALFs) built on Century chassis. They featured 1,250-gpm pumps and 750-gallon water tanks. They were identical in almost every way except the first out engine (referred to as 302 back then) had a top-mounted monitor and the second out engine (referred to as 303) added a front intake but had no top-mounted monitor.

I look back on those engines fondly. They are the trucks I remember running up to the corner to see after the whistle blew when I was a kid. It was a dream come true to ride these trucks when I joined the fire company. I even got to drive them a few times when I began my company's driver training program. Unfortunately I never got qualified on them because they were put up for sale when we replaced them, and training on them was suspended until we received our next twin engines, which ended up being twin 1997 Spartan/Saulsbury engines.

From my youth through my first years as a firefighter, those trucks were big parts of my life. I wish Weldon could have held onto one of them to preserve as an antique. At the time I joined, we were the only company within the township with ALFs. You always knew when a Weldon engine was en route or on scene.

A big part of knowing we were responding was the sound the engines made. To this day, I associate the Detroit Diesels on those trucks with what a fire truck is supposed to sound like. I mentioned that sound in an online article I wrote reporting on American LaFrance's recent closing and I received an email from Chief Chris Bors of the McKinley Fire Company in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. He relayed the following regarding that sound:

"From the mid 1960s until the early 1990s, Detroit Diesel was the premier supplier of diesel engines for fire apparatus. The design was unique in that it was a two-cycle engine, as opposed to the four-cycle design that all diesel engines, including Detroit, use today.

"The Detroit Diesel two-cycle used a supercharger to introduce air into the cylinders though a series of openings, or intake ports, in the cylinder wall. When the piston was at the bottom of its travel, this pressurized air forced exhaust gases out of the cylinder through open exhaust valves in the cylinder head and provided a fresh air charge for the next combustion cycle. As the piston traveled up, the intake ports were sealed off by the piston rings, and the air charge became quickly compressed and heated-the same process that causes SCBA cylinders to heat when being filled. When the piston approached the top of its travel, a charge of fuel was injected and rapidly detonated when combined with the superheated air in the cylinder. The rapidly burning fuel forced the piston down, uncovering the intake ports and repeating the process.

"The primary difference of the two-cycle Detroit Diesel design was that the pistons fired at the top of every stroke as opposed to the four-cycle, in which the pistons fire on every other stroke. This allowed for a fast revving, relatively lightweight engine that was fuel-efficient and generated a wonderful sound. Unfortunately, it also generated a lot of pollution. As EPA regulations for diesel engines got more strict in the mid 1990s, the cleaner burning four cycle became the design of choice for all diesel engine manufacturers."

Come to think of it, I do remember the sooty exhaust from those trucks when we left the firehouse.

Regardin

By Alan M. Petrillo

Depending on their specific needs, fire departments are saving money, time, and effort by tagging onto an existing apparatus purchase contract by another fire department. Most departments find there are a number of substantial advantages to be found in a tag-on purchase, heavily outweighing any drawbacks inherent in the process.

Strategies

Phil Gerace, director of sales and marketing for KME, says one of the reasons departments look to tag-on purchasing is that the traditional apparatus bidding process takes a long time to do. "While you're going through that process, there are high administrative costs going on-the operations and fleet management people have to take the time to write the bid, there are legal review costs, there's the high cost of publishing the bid through advertising and getting it into people's hands, and the cost of any salaries during that time," Gerace says. "It typically takes a year from the start of writing the apparatus spec to cutting a purchase order to buy it. And while that year is going on, the prices of components are usually going up too."

Still, the most frequent way departments buy apparatus is through their own bidding processes, Gerace says. The second most used method is through a scheduled contract, such as the Houston Galveston Area Contract (H-GAC), while the third most popular way to buy is through a tag-on contract, he says.

Gerace says the tag-on process (also known as an add-on) comprises two strategies-adding onto a department's own purchase (e.g., buying two vehicles on the same contract) or tagging onto someone else's purchase. "We offer both types of options for customers," he points out. "Usually there's a period of years where you can tag onto your own contract with pricing increases built into it. Typically it's only for the same vehicle, but you could conceivably do some small changes with a tag-on vehicle."

A more popular option than a tag-on contract, Gerace maintains, is a long-term purchasing agreement (LTPA). "With an LTPA, you can structure the purchases for multiple years, as long as the price structure reflects potential increases as the contract runs," he says. "LTPAs are a huge benefit to standardizing a fleet, which benefits training and maintenance. It also saves administrative costs on future purchases, the service and parts costs are lower, and training costs are lower. These agreements usually are for five years, but some run for as many as ten years."

Scott Oyen, Rosenbauer's vice president of sales, points out that LTPAs also are gaining traction with the economy still running on the slow side. "A department might sign an LTPA for a custom pumper, bid it for a set amount, set the term for a number of years, and use the consumer price index (CPI) as a guide for increases in pricing," Oyen says. "Also there usually is wording in there to account for any National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard changes or federal engine emission changes."

Rosenbauer works with the San Bernardino County (CA) Fire Department on an LTPA, Oyen notes, and has built apparatus for the Fort Worth (TX) Fire Department through H-GAC.

Tagging onto another department's contract usually comes about when a sales representative draws a bidding department's attention to a purchase similar to theirs, Gerace says. "Usually the purchase being tagged onto has been competitively bid with multiple bidders, and tag-on bidders will want to see the bid and purchase documents for the original purchase to see if it fits their needs for tagging on."

Gerace points out that KME had a large purchase several years ago by the Los Angeles County (CA) Fire Department where the department bought dozens of pumpers and aerials. "Surrounding departments were encouraged to tag onto the c

It is with deep sadness that the Washington Fire Chiefs announces the passing of Dr. Robert Barnard.   Dr. "Bob", 84, served as a firefighter for Thurston County Fire District #9 beginning in 1974 and continued to serve the community in his later years as a fire commissioner.  A college professor and fire service safety expert, he was instrumental in the development of the WAC 296-305 Safety Standards for Firefighters as well as several other state-wide training initiatives.  Most recently Dr. "Bob" assisted the Washington Fire Chiefs & Washington Fire Commissioners Association in developing model policies to comply with the WAC 296-305.  Dr. Bob's knowledge, talents and expertise will be missed by the  Washington Fire Chiefs but he leaves a tremendous legacy in the Washington State fire service...

Compressed air foam systems (CAFS) have made their way into an increasing number of fire apparatus and the use has grown exponentially. This can be attributed to a combination of factors such as an increased acceptance of this technology, more frequent exposure to the available systems, faster knock down, and the benefit of substantial suppression power when water resources are limited.  As with many technologies that have found their place on fire department vehicles; the reliability and credibility of such equipment is only guaranteed by routine exercise, inspection, maintenance, and deficiency reporting to the maintenance department or service center.