AMERICAN LaFRANCE unexpectedly closed its doors on January 17, 2014. Shortly after the news spread, the company issued this statement:

"American LaFrance, LLC, the manufacturer of fire, rescue, and vocational vehicles, announced the closing of its warehouse, production, and service facilities in Monks Corner, South Carolina, Ephrata, Pennsylvania, and Los Angeles, California.

"The company is advising its customers that they will be able to continue obtaining replacement parts and service for vehicles manufactured by American LaFrance from a new third party vendor. American LaFrance will contact customers with information about where they can obtain parts and service for their vehicles in the near future.

"Unfortunately, the company's unexpected current financial condition requires the discontinuation of operations in these locations at this time and these facilities are not expected to reopen."

FERRARA FIRE APPARATUS, INC., announced that America's Bravest Equipment Company is its new dealer in Central and Eastern Kentucky. America's Bravest is led by company president Dave Goldsmith. Chris Ferrara, Ferrara Fire Apparatus president and CEO, says, "We've been aggressively growing our dealer network over the past year. In doing so, we are seeking out companies established in the fire service with a good customer base and a first-rate reputation. America's Bravest is a 12-year-old company with a loyal following and a long track record of success with their equipment lines. They also have an excellent sales and service team that is extremely excited about selling fire trucks." Dave Goldsmith, America's Bravest Equipment Company owner, adds, "America's Bravest Equipment Company has the same high standards as Ferrara. Our company is very selective on who works for us, and what products we offer our customers. We took a very hard look at which fire apparatus manufacturer we represented, and Ferrara exceeded our expectations. The sales team at America's Bravest is very excited in being able to offer our customers a quality fire apparatus."

Following its November 2013 Product Safety Alert for firefighter turnout gear, W. L. GORE & ASSOCIATES has worked with fire departments, dealers, and manufacturers throughout North America to assess and reseal, as necessary, the seams of turnouts with Gore moisture barriers. In the first two months since the alert, Gore has successfully remediated both stored and worn gear for metropolitan and volunteer departments that enrolled in the remediation program early. Industry response has been positive to Gore's remediation program, and Gore will continue to collaborate with all responding departments on potentially affected gear. In conjunction with the remediation program, Gore has developed a new GORE-SEAM® tape. This new tape is unaffected by storage interactions, and it eliminates the need for new gear to be stored in open air. Turnout gear manufacturers are working to rapidly incorporate the new tape into their products using Gore moisture barriers.

HARRISON has announced that Tim Allaband has been added to Harrison Hydraulic Solutions as the northeastern region manager. In this position, Allaband will be responsible for the forecasting, marketing, training, and sales of Harrison products into all the business segments that Harrison serves in the northeastern region. He will also be responsible for integrating Harrison Products and Services into new markets outside of the traditional fire and emergency segment. Allaband most recently served as vice president of Redstorm Fire & Rescue Apparatus, in Gainesville, Virginia, where he was responsible for overall sales and service to five states, focusing on both

Motorola Minitor VI two-tone voice pager is small, light, and tough. Its improved receiver is designed for maximum range and intelligibility. It records and manages up to 16 minutes of messages, allowing users to replay, skip, fast forward, rewind, lock, unlock, and delete messages for quick review and prioritization of calls. Call alerts, memo announcements, and vibrate types can be customized by call address so users know immediately who is paging them. Available in an intrinsically safe model for use around flammable gases, aerosols, and particulates, the pager is built to be small and unobtrusive yet tough enough to withstand heat, smoke, grime, water spray, and many other challenges in the field. The Minitor VI comes with a rechargeable battery that will last several days. It also offers an alkaline battery tray so users can change batteries in the field. www.motorolasolutions.com, 847-576-5000

Kussmaul USB Dual Charging port, Model #091-219, affords users two charging ports with a maximum output of three amps. The USB charging port is designed for easy installation and is reverse-polarity-protected. The built-in LED indicates when the device is powered. The Dual Port can be connected to a 12-volt switched ignition or directly to the battery. The unit provides a quick and easy way to recharge electronic devices in a vehicle, including iPads and iPhones, at the same time. www.kussmaul.com, 631-567-0314

Zico QUIC-MOUNT Premixed Can Holder, Model QM-PMH-1, helps prevent cans from rolling, falling, leaking, or puncturing. The heavy-duty steel and aluminum design keeps cylindrical cans up to 32 ounces (3 3⁄8 inches in diameter) secured and organized where firefighters need them most. Suitable for use with various premixes, rapid tool guard, silicone spray, bug spray, WD-40, and more. The bracket mounts to nearly any flat surface and is powder-coated yellow for maximum durability and can protection. Hang the bracket from the compartment wall to save space on the shelf below. www.ziamatic.com, 800-711-FIRE

Hansen International roll-up door offers many features at an affordable price, including double wall extruded anodized aluminum box lath construction; anodized sand blast finish aluminum box lath that retains its color and promotes the adhesion of graphics and decals; interlocking end caps; available adjustable track mounted door ajar switch on mounting plate; one-piece flocked surface on side seals; PVC seal between each mechanical box lath; seven-year warranty; adjustable counterbalance that allows for the operator to lift the door approximately halfway before it is "assisted" by the counterbalance; and ergonomically designed handles that allow gloved hands easy access and operation. www.hansenint.com, 800-850-8070

Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1 tablet is a rugged seven-inch fanless tablet with a fourth-generation Intel® Core™ i5 processor. Running Windows 8.1 Pro, the Toughpad FZ-M1 c

By Alan M. Petrillo

Bernalillo County (NM) Fire & Rescue has to protect an enormous coverage area-1,169 square miles encompassing diverse kinds of terrain and a wide range of structure types and densities.

The county surrounds the city of Albuquerque, and among the areas it covers is a large, mostly rural section on the east side of the Sandia and Manzanos Mountains that has a relatively limited water supply.

Darrell R. Lindsey, Bernalillo County's deputy chief, says the answer to the department's pumper needs in that part of the district was a fleet of four Pierce Velocity 4x4 pumpers, purchased over a four-year period. Bernalillo County Fire & Rescue expects to take delivery of its fourth Velocity 4x4 pumper this Spring.

"We run all Pierce Quantum pumpers on the city (west) side of the mountains," says Lindsey. "But because we get a fair amount of snow on the east side, and roads can be gravel and pretty tight in some places, we went with the Pierce Velocity 4x4 pumpers."

Bernalillo County (NM) Fire & Rescue turned to Pierce Manufacturing to build four Pierce Velocity 4x4 pumpers over the course of four years. All the pumpers (third unit delivered in 2013 depicted here), are on 184½-inch wheelbases with 31-foot overall lengths and are powered by Detroit 500-hp DD13 diesel engines and Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmissions. (Photo courtesy of Bernalillo County Fire & Rescue.)

Two Distinct Response Areas

Bernalillo County Fire & Rescue has four stations on the rural east side of its district, each housing a Pierce 4x4 pumper, while Pierce Quantum pumpers and aerials are stationed in the eight stations located in the urban areas of the district.

"Because the Quantums sit so tall, Pierce doesn't build a four-wheel drive on that frame, so we first looked at the Pierce Arrow and Saber models," Lindsey says. "But, we concluded that with all the equipment we carry on our pumpers and the need for an emergency medical service (EMS) cabinet inside the crew cab, the Velocity 4x4 would be the model for us."

Lindsey points out that the Velocity is set up as a six-person cab with three self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) seats, the driver's seat, and two fold-down forward-facing seats. "The cab is easy to get into and out of because of its larger doors," he notes, "and the vehicle rides very well for a four-wheel drive. It's really built for the firefighters, with the big roomy cab and the one-piece window that gives great visibility for the driver and officer. And, the doghouse inside the cab sits fairly low, which allows for good visibility across the crew cab and out the front for the firefighters in the back."

The Bernalillo County Pierce pumpers carry Waterous 2,000-gpm pumps, 500-gallon water tanks, and 25-gallon foam cells, along with FoamPro 2002 single-agent proportioning systems. (Photo courtesy of Bernalillo County Fire & Rescue.)

One of the options that Bernalillo County chose was to have an EMS compartment installed on the back wall between the two flip-down seats. "T

By Chris Mc Loone

In recent years, there has been much focus on seating for firefighters inside apparatus.

Firefighters come in all shapes and sizes, and they all carry pieces of equipment with them in their turnout gear, including hand tools as well as personal escape systems. All of these things add to the space a firefighter takes up when he sits in the apparatus. Additionally, recent emissions control requirements have increased the size of the "doghouse" between the driver and officer or rear occupants.

With all these factors impacting the space firefighters have to get in, sit down, don SCBA, and put on their seat belts, interest in apparatus seating is understandable. Anthropometric studies, which have resulted in new seat belt designs intended to make them easier to use, have focused on the average size of firefighters in and out of their personal protective equipment (PPE). Additionally, seating manufacturers have taken a look at what firefighters are carrying in or on their PPE to begin designing seating around today's firefighters.

The Valor Firefighting Seat features the Valor SCBA pack support straps-magnetic straps that keep the straps in the right location for easy access. Valor is also the only seat on the market which has a center release handle that releases both the seat belt and the SCBA bottle. (Photo courtesy of Valor Firefighting Seats.)

Department Demands

Although every fire department is different, there are commonalities to what they are demanding from their apparatus seating. "Ultimate durability," says Joe Mirabile, vice president, business development, Valor Firefighter Seats. "Firefighters are quite possibly the toughest operators of gear on the planet. They put the seats through a lot, and the seats need to be able to stand up to the beating they will take. The upholstery itself needs to be strong and a very tight fit to avoid catching on equipment or ripping." Mirable adds that the seats should be easy to get into including belt safety restraint and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) pack straps.

In terms of ingress and egress, Paul Bostrom, vice president of sales and marketing at H. O. Bostrom, says departments are looking for SCBA brackets that automatically lock when an SCBA is pushed into the seat and releases with an easy release handle built into the front of the seat cushion. Bostrom also lists many other items fire departments are demanding:

• Seat adjustability, including fore/aft, height, back recline, and seat tilt adjustment.
• Driver seats that adjust to fit all size occupants.
• Officer seat adjustment, including SCBA seats with back recline and fore/aft adjustment.
• Crew seats with flip-up seat cushions to save space.
• Integral three-point seat belts mounted in the seats.
• Air suspension seats to absorb road shocks.
• Durable trim material.
• Low sewn seams on seat cushions.
• Ease of serviceability without special upholstery tools.
• Air bag integration.

Mirabile adds, "Once at the fire, adrenalin is going, and the seat needs to be as easy to get out of as possible. This is why we created the Valor SCBA pack support straps-magnetic st

By Alan M. Petrillo

Goodfellow Air Force Base, located inside the city limits of San Angelo, Texas, serves as the home for basic and advanced firefighting training for each branch of the United States military services through its Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy.

The Fire Academy plays host to 15 advanced fire protection courses and an extremely intensive fire protection apprentice course and instructs individuals from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and civil service employees from the Department of Defense. Courses include the Fire Protection Apprentice Course, Rescue Technician I and II, Hazmat Technician T-t-T, WMD Technician, Instructor III, Inspector, fire officer courses, Fire Marshal, and the P-23 distance learning course.

Equipment

Air Force Tech Sergeant Kevin Coughlin has been an instructor at the Fire Academy for nearly four years and teaches Block 4 structural fireground operations. He points out that the Fire Academy has 17 structural firefighting pieces of apparatus, mostly made by Pierce Manufacturing Inc. and KME. "The pumpers range from 2012 to late 1980s models," he says. "Typically the pumpers have 1,500-gallon per minute (gpm)pumps and a mix of 750- and 500-gallon water tanks. All the vehicles carry foam because we train and use foam predominantly at the fire academy, and some of the vehicles are set up as Class III wildland rigs."

Students from the 312th Training Squadron at Goodfellow AFB put out a fire in the Helo Trainer at the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force by Senior Airman Michael Smith.)

Coughlin points out the newest pumper, built by Pierce, has a CAFS system, two 1¾-inch hose crosslays, and a hosebed filled with five-inch large-diameter hose (LDH). The wildland Type III vehicles, which have heavy-duty all-terrain tires and are lifted seven inches, are all KME-manufactured, he notes, and serve as wildland urban interface type structural rigs.

"We keep the students busy in the structural fireground operations block," Coughlin says. "Block 4 lasts 15 days, which includes three lecture days and 12 days spent working outside. The students have 43 hands-on objectives where they are evaluated and face nine different live fires in six days." Every student practices every position in firefighting, working in teams of two or four, he adds, practicing evolutions and honing their skills before they are evaluated at each position.

"We have ten burn trainers, including two structural firefighting trainers, each with three stories and three live burn rooms," Coughlin says. "They all are propane-fired and allow us to give both high and low rollover of flames."

Other burn trainers include those for vehicle, dumpster, and above-ground propane storage tank simulators. For wildland fire simulations, Coughlin says that academy instructors burn hay in a concrete area surrounded by a sprinkler system. "The students get to do defensive fire protection work using control lines," he notes.

Besides its live-burn training structures, the fire academy has a structural training building it uses in the apprentice and advanced fire protection courses. The lightweight structural trainer was required to train students to breach, search, and shore up light frame structures involved in natural disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes. The trainer has walls that are bowed to simu