Chris Mc Loone

CM: How is the fire industry doing right now? Can we say that we've finally turned the corner?

PD: According to FAMA statistics, new orders for fire apparatus have seen an increase recently. The first quarter of 2013 showed that new orders were up about 25 percent when compared to the first quarters of 2011 and 2012. New orders were up five percent compared to the last quarter of 2012. If this trend were to continue, annualized sales would be up 40 percent over 2012. This is a big "IF," as I don't think the trend will continue. The numbers are skewed because of some large, nonmunicipal orders in the first quarter.

Although I can't say the market has finally turned the corner, this is some positive news. In 2012, the United States municipal market was still down more than 40 percent when compared to its height in 2008 when the market peaked at more than 5,000 trucks. The market was flat compared to 2011. Historically, there have been more large municipal orders, and these have slowed over the past five years. Based on this, we are starting to see some pent-up demand, particularly with larger cities. This is tempered by a reduction in AFG grant funding and a lower percentage of awards being made for fire apparatus.

Look, no one wants to see a rebound in apparatus and equipment sales more than the manufacturers, but it's too early to tell if the market is back. Statistics from the League of Cities Annual Report show that municipalities are far from being out of the financial crisis. Fire departments' budgets are no longer sacred cows when it comes to municipal spending cuts. Once the dust settles in a few years, I predict we'll probably see the market settle into a "new normal" market of 4,250 to 4,500 new fire apparatus per year.

CM: What is the biggest issue in the fire service, and how is Darley helping to address it?

PD: I don't know of a person in the industry who wouldn't quickly point to the budgets crisis as the biggest issue for career departments. This is at a time when most departments are being asked to do more with less. Fire departments really need to rethink their approach and reinvent themselves.

Darley is keenly focused on this industry need. On the pump side, we have been working closely with fire apparatus manufacturers during the past few years to help them introduce unique and competitively priced multipurpose vehicles by offering them "Pump System Solutions" that address the true needs of today's fire service. These pump systems allow the manufacturer to offer one vehicle that can serve a variety of department needs, rather than just having to devote a specialized vehicle for rescue, pumping, or hazmat.

We are focusing on lower-cost equipment such as competitively priced, high-quality Darley branded bunker gear, nozzles, adapters, and so on. We also have a variety of financing options available.

For volunteer departments, recruitment and training are pressing long-term issues. We are designing our products to be easy to operate while being high-tech, which appeals to today's new volunteer recruits.

CM: To you, what is the most important product Darley produces?

PD: Under our diversification strategy, we've cast a wide net and launched a lot of innovative new products over the past few years-everything from pumps to equipment, polyurethane bodies, compressed air foam systems (CAFS), water purification, and drones. At our core, we're still a pump manufacturer. I would say that they're all important, but I grew up on the pump side of our business and continue to migrate mostly to this area where I know the industry players well and understand market needs. It comes very natural to me personally.

We've recently introduced a new 3,500-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump that has been highly successful. It is the highest flow pump

In the News

• OSHKOSH AIRPORT PRODUCTS GROUP, a division of Oshkosh Corporation, recently delivered its 1,000th Oshkosh® Striker® aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) vehicle. Striker number 1,000 was placed into service at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. The new Striker 6x6 features a 680-hp engine, a TAK-4® independent suspension, and a seven-speed automatic transmission. Its firefighting systems include a 3,000-gallon water tank; a 420-gallon foam tank; and a roof turret and a low attack front bumper turret, each rated at 625/1,250 gallons per minute. The vehicle also features 460 pounds of Halotron delivered through a 150-foot hose reel as well as a second hose reel in a lower compartment for water and foam discharge.

• SMEAL FIRE APPARATUS CO. recently announced that Delwin Smeal, company president, retired effective September 1, 2013. Delwin worked for the company for 47 years including the past 20 as president of the organization. "Del has given his whole adult life to our company and our customers," says Rod Cerny, board chair. "He has earned the opportunity to enjoy retirement with Vicki. We all wish them the best." Cerny also announced the hiring of a new company president and two promotions. Mark Denniston Huber will join the company as president. Jeff Hunke, a 26-year veteran of the company, has been named chief operating officer. Jeff Wegner has been promoted to vice president of sales.

• SCOTT SAFETY and MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS have signed a product development agreement designed to enhance firefighter safety and accountability. Central to this agreement is the capability to transmit Scott Air-Pak SCBA data, such as air levels and PASS alarm data, over Motorola APX™ Project 25 portable radios. The Motorola APX radio pairs to Scott's Air-Pak X3 SCBA via mission critical wireless. The air tank telemetry is sent over the ASTRO 25 network whenever the firefighter presses the push-to-talk (PTT) button. This data is displayed on either the Motorola Solutions APX accountability solution or Scott's accountability solution.

• RICHARD A. MARINUCCI, CFO, Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment "Chief Concerns" columnist, has received the Ronny Jack Coleman Leadership Legacy Award. Marinucci has been at the forefront of the United States fire service for his entire career. The Ronny Jack Coleman Leadership Legacy Award recognizes an individual from an accredited agency or the chief officer designation echelon for superior leadership and actions that have elevated the International Fire and Emergency Service (IFES) profession through mentoring, teaching, and sharing outstanding contributions; and who has exhibited the consistent dedication of renewal qualities and commitment to fire service professionalism by demonstrating a devotion to help raise the IFES to greater heights.

• E-ONE has received its first ProTech™ order. The Bryn Mawr (PA) Fire Department is the first department to order apparatus with the new safety technology package developed by E-ONE. It ordered two trucks with the system. ProTech is an occupant protection system that integrates prevention and protection technology to offer an all-encompassing safety technology package. It features OnGuard® for audible collision warning and accident mitigation, G4™ electronic stability control for added stability, CrewGuard™ for occupant detection, and a 360-degree camera system for perimeter protection.

E-ONE also announced that it and Fire Service, Inc., its dealer for Indiana, northern Illinois, and western Ohio, were recently awarded a five-yea

Alan M. Petrillo

Fire apparatus cabs are getting safer for occupants with various protection systems being installed by manufacturers to protect firefighters-from beefed up cab structures to nearly-all-around air bag protection to custom-designed seat belt harnessing systems.

Egress Systems

Rosenbauer's director of dealer development, Mike Schoenberger, says his company builds safety and integrity into its custom Commander cabs, as well as into the Smart Cab crew module that can be mounted onto the back of a two-door commercial chassis.

The Smart Cab features a 96-inch width that allows four firefighters to be seated across the cab, Schoenberger says, as well as EZGress swing out steps. "EZGress has a large stepping surface in a three-step arrangement that makes it easy to get in and out of the cab," he says. "You don't have to back out, you walk out like on a staircase. When the firefighter puts weight on the step, it locks in place."

A choice of air-actuated or electric steps is standard on some Pierce custom cabs and options on others, according to Lilsa Barwick, director of product management for cab, chassis, and electrical products at Pierce Manufacturing. "The steps are tucked up and out of the elements when firefighters are in the cab," she says. "When deployed, they provide a more ergonomic stair step approach to getting in and out of the cab to help prevent knee or hip injuries."

(1) A split view of immediately before and at the moment of a crash impact of the cab front air bags deploying during a Spartan Chassis test of its Advanced Protection System, standard equipment on several of its chassis. (Photo courtesy of Spartan Chassis.)

Cab Protection Systems

Schoenberger says both the Smart Cab and the custom Commander cab passed the side impact and roof crush tests required by National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus. "Our crew cabs have full-width floors for firefighter safety and comfort," he observes. "There is no step well in the crew cab.

The custom Commander cab, which is made out of 3/16-inch extruded aluminum, offers complete air bag protection for occupants, Schoenberger notes-a driver's steering wheel air bag, officer's knee air bag, and side air bags in the crew area for outer seat positions. "About 25 percent of our vehicles are equipped with air bags," he says. "It's a choice of the customer because the NFPA does not require them."

Inside the cab, Pierce has developed ergonomic seats with integrated side air bag protection, as well as dual seat belt retractors. "Over the years, we integrated air bags into the cab's side walls and now into the seats," Barwick observes. "And, our extra-long seat belts retract much quicker so they don't dangle and get hooked on things or get caught in doors."

(2) Pierce Manufacturing uses the IMMI ReadyReach seat belt system for its cabs-extra long seat belts that retract much quicker so they don't dangle, get hooked on equipment, or get caught in doors. (Photo courtesy of Pierce Manufacturing Inc.)

In the front of the cab, Pierce installs a driver's air bag

Bill Adams

The trendiest rig in the fire service today is the pumper-rescue. Its popularity has steadily increased during the past few decades with trade journals expounding on the subject for just as long. Some fire departments pride themselves when specifying one, thinking they've just reinvented the wheel. Fire apparatus manufacturers have embraced the concept with innovative designs and aggressive marketing and have done a respectable job doing so. It has almost become the industry standard for pumpers.

Amazingly, fire departments are rushing out to purchase, manufacturers are building, and apparatus pundits are eagerly reporting about fire trucks that have no formal definition, adhere to no specific regulatory standard, and embrace-as new-a concept introduced in the early 1950s. There are no industrywide accepted design criteria and no recognized standard specification. Nor is there any agreement on what to call it. Other than being compliant with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, for a pumper, there is no clear-cut job description for the "other half" of its name.

In actuality, a pumper-rescue, or whatever you choose to call it, is a concept. It's a theory-a philosophy of design easily adaptable to meet the individual needs of many. It seems to be working. The adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" may have merit.

(1, 2) Taken by unknown photographers in the early 1960s, these photos show Boston's Engine-Squads 14 and 53. In the mid 1950s, the Robinson Boiler Works rebuilt five 1948-era Mack hose wagons with "rescue/squad" style bodies, 750-gpm pumps, 400-gallon tanks, and overhead ladder racks. [Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Bill Noonan, Boston Fire Department (ret.).]

History

Pumpers, or engines, have been around since day one and need no further explanation. It's generally accepted that the first rescue company was organized in New York, New York, in 1915. From the Fire Department Journal-a History of Boston Rescue Companies, by Firefighter William Noonan, Boston, Massachusetts, followed in 1917, eventually having three heavy rescues on its roster. Noonan says in his book, "In 1954, the fire commissioner decided that the city needed only one heavy rescue company and he would create five engine-squad companies spread around the city. Rescue Co. 1 was deactivated, and some of the rescue equipment was transferred to the wagon of Engine Co. 7. They would respond to rescue calls with their wagon only and fire calls with both rigs. At times they were called Squad 7 on the department radio."

Job-specific pumper-rescue bodies may have also originated in Boston. The Boston Fire Historical Society's Web site notes that Engine 14's 1948 Mack hose wagon was one of five rebuilt around 1955 with 750-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pumps, 400-gallon booster tanks, and a "Robinson rescue/squad" body. The Robinson Boiler Works, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, built pumpers and hose wagons for departments throughout New England. Running as Engine-Squad 14, it featured high side compartments on both sides, a narrow pump house, and a tilt-down overhead ladder rack-a close prototype for today's pumper-rescue designs. As a premonition of things to come, Boston's 1954 annual report reflected not only the creation of the five engine-squads running as single-piece companies, it showed the closing of four engine and four ladder companies and eliminating the hose wagon on nine additional two-piece engine companies. Hello, quints, quads, squads, rescue-pumpers, downsizing, and limited staffing. History is repeati

By Christian P. Koop

Ever wonder about the quality of the diesel fuel you are putting into your emergency response vehicle's (ERV) fuel tank? If not, you should be. The quality and ingredients used to formulate modern diesel fuel and how it is stored and transported can adversely affect a fuel delivery system's life, emissions, and even fuel economy. The main purpose of this article is to give a brief history of diesel fuel, some of its main components, their purpose, and some of the most important issues surrounding diesel fuel today. Additionally, I want to make those unfamiliar with diesel aware of what they can do to test the diesel fuel they are using in their ERVs and what they can do to improve it. It may not be up to the standards diesel engine manufacturers require for their engines.

History

Before discussing diesel fuel, I need to give credit to the inventor of the diesel engine, Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel. Diesel was a German refrigeration engineer born in Paris, France, in 1858. He received a patent for his invention in 1892. Interestingly, his first fuel of choice for his compression ignition engine was coal dust. However, he had problems injecting the coal dust into the cylinder. After an explosion destroyed his first engine, he began testing the use of vegetable oils as another fuel source. Eventually, he was able to successfully use peanut oil; however, he continued to experiment with other possible fuel sources. Finally, he found what eventually would be known as diesel fuel, a stable byproduct of the petroleum (crude oil) refinement or distillation process. Other fuels derived from petroleum through this process include bunker oil (fuel for large ships), gasoline (petrol), jet fuel (kerosene, paraffin), mineral spirits, and heating oil (very similar to diesel).

Diesel fuel is also referred to as fuel oil and has a wide boiling point range between 320°F and 690°F. Keep in mind that petroleum contains a large number of hydrocarbons and other components that are used to manufacture many commercial products-not just fuels. Diesel died in 1913 at the relatively young age of 55. However, by this time, his engine had been granted many patents. When his main patent expired in 1907, other companies such as Mercedes Benz and Peugeot began developing their own engines. By 1936, Mercedes showed the first nonexperimental diesel-engine-powered passenger car at the Berlin Fair.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actually began regulating emission standards for on-highway and transit compression ignition engines in 1974. Over the years, it gradually tightened the standards on hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM) or soot, and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. However, it was not until 1985 that a restriction on NOx was issued, and it began limiting PM for the first time in 1988. This is why the heavy duty diesel engine manufacturers began producing electronic controls for their fuel injection systems in the mid 1980s. More precise control over timing and fuel injection means better combustion, which equates to less PM and cleaner air. This cleaned up the diesel engine emissions considerably, but stricter (EPA) regulations to lower PM and to reduce NOx emissions even further were on the horizon.

In 1993, the EPA issued a new standard for diesel fuel, reducing the sulfur content to 500 parts per million (ppm), named low-sulfur diesel (LSD). In 1997, the EPA issued a new standard for the 2004 model year with major changes to reduce NOx and PM even further for model years 2007 and 2010. These changes would require reformulating diesel fuel to reduce the sulfur content even further. Beginning in 2006, it dropped the sulfur content even lower to 15 ppm and called it ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD).

Sulfur in diesel is linked to acid rain, causes health problems, and can also lead to acid formation inside the engine. There