Roger Lackore

 

The Fire Apparatus Manufacturers' Association (FAMA) recently launched its first-ever FAMA Fire Apparatus Safety Guide.

 

The guide is a collaborative effort by those in fire apparatus and component manufacturing to provide a common source for apparatus safety information. Printed in a colorful 8.5- by 5.5-inch format, the book is a convenient summary of safety procedures for fire chiefs, safety officers, training officers, apparatus operators, and mechanics. The guide begins with safety program basics, describes safety signs interpretation, presents the essentials for working on and around any apparatus, and then concludes with specifics on safe pumping and aerial operation.

Today's fire apparatus are the most advanced tools for getting people out of trouble. They are complex pieces of equipment intended for use only by fire service professionals. Therefore, firefighters have a duty to know how to use them properly and safely-both for their own safety as well as for the safety of those they will be working around. The FAMA Fire Apparatus Safety Guide is not a substitute for a manufacturer's operator and maintenance manual, but we believe it is an essential resource for any firefighter authorized to drive, operate, or work around fire apparatus.

Follow a Safety Program

The Apparatus Safety Guide begins by covering the roles of fire department personnel and the unique perspectives that each should be bringing to the apparatus safety equation. The guide covers many of the safety practices required to be compliant with NFPA 1451, Standard for a Fire and Emergency Service Vehicle Operations Training Program. Whether it be the silver-haired chiefs or departments' newest rookies, they all have a role to play in the apparatus safety program.

Safety Alerts

People are used to seeing myriad warnings on consumer products and may roll their eyes over the cup that reminds them that the coffee is hot. But, firefighters cannot be reminded too often that apparatus are very powerful pieces of industrial equipment. They are powerful and capable because they need to carry personnel, equipment, and water quickly and efficiently to a fire. But, like any powerful and capable tool, fire apparatus have the power to harm if not used knowledgably and carefully by experienced and skilled operators. The safety warnings on these tools are reminders, but before firefighters take these tools out of the garage, they had better know what the safety signs mean and have their message ingrained in their actions.

Prepare for Safe Operation

This section of the guide walks readers through the types of general hazards they may encounter when working on or around their apparatus. The custom nature of fire apparatus means that personnel must study each apparatus individually to identify each potential for harm. Pinch points, hot surfaces, stored energy, and more-the guide points out each type of hazard to help users identify them. Once documented, departments can use this list of identified hazards to train new personnel or others unfamiliar with the equipment.

Know Your Response Area

Some hazards are not found on the apparatus but are a function of using the apparatus in unique environments. This section of the guide walks readers through the process of identifying characteristics of their response areas that may require special consideration. Narrow roads, bridges, power lines, railroad crossings, and other infrastructure can turn a routine run into an emergency scene if departments neglect proper planning.

Secure, Load, and Check

Even the most carefully planned apparatus specification may not account for every item a department may decide to store and c

Chris Mc Loone

 

Last month, my fire company decided that since it was our 110th anniversary, we would get out our horse-drawn hose reel, assemble it, and find our strongest young members to pull it through town in our annual Independence Day parade.

 

The last time we had it out was for our 100th anniversary, and it has become obvious that there aren't many fire company members left who actually know how to put this thing together.

So, a few of us younger members went through the process, and hopefully in another 10 years when we bring it out again we won't be shaking our heads trying to figure out how all the parts fit together. Yes, we have considered leaving it together, but our firehouse doesn't really have the space to do so.

This hose reel isn't actually the one we purchased originally, but it's a match. Last month, I mentioned how purchasing our hose reel nearly depleted our funds back in 1904. I did some checking, and our treasury dropped to $0.75 after we paid for it. But, the company kept moving forward, continued to raise funds, and purchased 500 feet of hose for the cart's reel shortly thereafter. This was October 1904, six months after the fire company's founding. And, it wasn't until February 1905 that that we responded with the new hose reel to its first fire.

Once we had the reel assembled, I went to the hose tower to get the hose that goes with it. I brought the first length back and asked the group, mostly younger members, what the coupling at the end of the hose is called. Sadly, no one knew about Jones Snaps, and it's been years since I actually had a Jones Snap key, so that history was lost on them. It's hard to appreciate how great threaded couplings are until you've struggled with the Jones Snaps.

When I was fact finding about the cost of the reel and how it affected our fire company's bottom line, something struck me. We live in a time when fire apparatus costs are in the hundreds of thousands, not $110 like in 1904. I've discussed here how some departments serve their communities with 35-year-old apparatus out of necessity. Sometimes, a truck this age may even be the newest apparatus a department owns. In other communities, the apparatus is newer, but it's still a struggle sometimes to secure funds for replacement. In large municipalities, getting approval to replace an aging apparatus is more challenging than ever. But, none of this is new. Apparatus purchasing has never been an easy process, and it probably never will be.

I read a short item on a Web site recently about a new apparatus purchase. The company that submitted the new delivery was understandably proud of the truck it just built. It makes sense-we are all proud of the finished product after all the work we put into planning a new rig. The fire company worked with an outside consultant, the apparatus manufacturer, and its own purchasing committee and ended up saving approximately $50,000 on items and equipment for the truck. In today's purchasing climate, that is a significant savings.

As I sit down with my fellow purchasing committee members to plan our next rescue truck, I realize it is no different than in 1904. Back then, we had a committee; it researched options, presented them to the company, got approval to make the purchase, and shortly thereafter it equipped the reel. The process is the same today, and with some hard work, we can build functional apparatus and save some money.

I think a bit of hard work on the specification end of the process, previous purchasing experiences, and a decent needs vs. wants exercise all go a long way toward easing the process. But, here's one more.

By Alan M. Petrillo

Fire apparatus manufacturers often are confronted with designing a variety of different configurations when they locate hydraulic rescue tools on rescues, pumpers, and even aerials. Some locations manufacturers have used include in an extended front bumper, dual installations on each side of the vehicle, single side mounts, transverse trays, in the rear compartment of a rig, and even putting some system elements on the top of a vehicle.

Ergonomics

Trapper Meadors, sales engineer for Precision Fire Apparatus, says that whether the hydraulic tool setup is in a walk-in rescue, walk-around, mini rescue, or pumper, ergonomics is the most important consideration along with space requirements. "We like to let the department firefighters come in and get their hands on the truck and their tools to see where they can best be placed," Meadors says. "Usually you want to see the heavy tools mounted down low and the lighter equipment up higher in a compartment. Very often, departments will choose to use slide-out trays to give easier access to their hydraulic tools."

Meadors notes that most departments are putting in simo pumps that can efficiently power two hydraulic tools at the same time but that others are choosing trimo pumps to handle three tools and quad pumps to allow the use of four tools simultaneously. "On some full-size rescues, we'll do a full complement off both the left and right sides of the vehicle," he adds. "On a mini rescue, we might locate the tools on a slide-out tray at the back of the vehicle."

Bill Proft, director of engineering for cab, chassis, and electrical platforms at Pierce Manufacturing Inc., echoes Meadors's philosophy about ergonomics being very important when locating hydraulic tools. "These tools aren't lightweight; even a 50-pound tool can be difficult to handle if lifted from shoulder or head height," Proft says. "Keeping tools down low on a utility tray is important so the tools are easy and comfortable to lift."

1 Precision Fire Apparatus configured this hydraulic rescue tool compartment for the Pleasant Hills (PA) Fire Department, featuring three color-coded hydraulic hose reels and three preconnected tools. (Photo courtesy of Precision Fire Apparatus.)

Location, Location, Location

 

Bob Sorensen, vice president of SVI Trucks, says he's seen the gamut of hydraulic tool installations on fire vehicles. "We've put them on the left and right sides, both sides, off the rear, and off the front of trucks," Sorensen says. "For instance, we recently built a rescue for the North Washington (CO) Fire Department, which runs a lot of interstate rescue work, and set the truck up with hydraulic tools-spreader, cutter, and ram-in compartments on both sides of the vehicle. Because they sometimes put the truck nearly perpendicular to the roadway to block the traffic flow, we installed two five-foot-long Whelen arrow sticks on each side of the body."

Sorensen says that SVI has set up rescues with hydraulic compartments on each side of the vehicle but sometimes only with a cutter on one side and a spreader on the other, with a ram in each compartment. "A configuration like that gives them the ability to work off both sides of the rescue without the cost of a duplicate set of tools," he says.

Sometimes, special circumstances dictate what has to be designed into a hydraulic rescue compartment, Sorensen points out. "In Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, they have a cold climate and run long calls in subzero temperatures," he

Why not wear your seatbelt?  Does your department have a policy of wearing seatbelts?  Has your department signed the Nation Seatbelt Pledge?  Twenty-seven fire departments in the state of Washington have signed along with the Washington State Fire Training Academy.  Two combined volunteer fire academies in Pierce County and the Washington State Fire Training Academy, class of 2013 have also signed the pledge.  With 500+ fire departments and fire districts in the State of Washington this is a very poor showing.  You can see the list of Washington departments that are 100% compliant with the International First Responder Seatbelt Pledge by going to http://www.everyonegoeshome.com/seatbelts.  The National Fire Service Seatbelt Pledge was created following the death of Texas firefighter Brian Hunton to reduce the firefighter fatalities.  Over 400 firefighters have died in vehicle crashes in the last 30 years; 300 did not have on seatbelts.  

There was an article in Fire Engineering stating that only 55% of firefighters wear their seatbelts which means that 45% do NOT wear their seatbelts.  

We in the fire service know there is a problem so why don’t we fix it?  Firefighters are not alone in not wearing their seatbelts.  The National Highway Traffic Administration reports that at least 42% of police officers killed in vehicle crashes nationally over the past 30 years were not wearing their seatbelts.  They NHTA also did a survey and found the highest use of seatbelts for the general public was in the west at 94%.  The State of Washington has the highest seatbelt use in the nation at 98%...

Congratulations 2014 SAFER Grant Recipients!

• Clark County Fire & Rescue, Ridgefield $620,360, under the leadership of 
  Chief Dennis Mason
• Whatcom County Fire District 8, Bellingham $144,643, under the leadership of 
  Chief Dean Whitney
• City of Tacoma Fire Department, 3,446,180, under the leadership of 
  Chief Jim Duggan
• City of Yakima Fire Department, $518,871, under the leadership of 
  Acting Chief Bob Stewart
• Clallam County Fire District 2, Port Angeles, $168,000, under the leadership of 
  Chief Sam Phillips
• Orcas Fire & Rescue, Eastsound $674,794, under the leadership of 
  Chief Kevin O’Brien

Congratulations to the Town of Concrete for their grant to build a new Fire & Life Safety Facility!  Kudos to Chief Rich Philips and former mayor and firefighter Judd Wilson for their $1,000,000 grant plus $875,000 legislative direct-appropriation.