HMA Fire and Hannay Reels Partner on Off-Road Utility Vehicles

HMA Fire and Hannay Reels have partnered to create off-road utility vehicles by adding Hannay Reels' high-pressure hose reels to HMA's ultra-high-pressure (UHP) mobile fire apparatus. UHP systems deliver microscopic water droplets at an extremely high velocity, always 1,100 pounds per square inch (psi) or higher. Using UHP technology, HMA Fire can offer systems for on- and off-road vehicles, ATVs, brush trucks, skid units, or retrofit packages for existing vehicles like pickup trucks and full sized fire apparatus.

HMA Fire recently began creating off-road utility vehicles to extinguish fires in areas where traditional trucks can't access. These self-sustaining units are completely mobile and equipped with a water and foam tank for flammable or combustible liquids. The units carry 100 gallons of water.

With UHP, small water droplets provide more surface area to extinguish a fire. These droplets also convert to steam quicker, which displaces oxygen. Additionally, UHP systems can emit a layer of foam for a fuel fire when using the appropriate foam type.

The pressures required for UHP demand a hose reel that can handle high pressures through long hoses. HMA Fire chose Hannay Reels to supply the reels for its new off-road utility vehicles. Hannay Reels manufactures durable hose and cable reels for both OEM and aftermarket applications.

With all UHP system components, there is limited space left on these vehicles, so HMA Fire requires a reel that can precisely fit into a small space. Hannay Reels will take parameters and specifications for every reel HMA Fire orders to ensure the reels precisely fit and operate under the expected conditions to which they will be exposed. Additionally, the reels must withstand 1,500 psi and accept foam without corroding. Stainless steel construction is a must.

The reels Hannay provides are standard-profile and low-profile to place alongside the UHP pump and motor. The reels provide fast payout and rewind with a chain-and-sprocket drive powered by an electric motor. An adjustable spring drag brake locks the reel in place, and a four-way roller guide helps reduce response time, increase hose capacity, speed cleanup, and improve lifesaving on-scene operations.

The off-road utility vehicles have been delivered to countries around the world for use in desert environments and remote locations. A customer in Dubai recently ordered the vehicles for desert fire suppression and 10 units were shipped to Mexico. In America, the United States Army and Navy requested units for use in operating bases and tent cities in Afghanistan. In all these areas, standard vehicles are too large for certain roads and cities and are also unable to tread through heavy sands.

For more information, visit www.hannayreels.com (518-797-3791) or www.hmafire.com (800-338-2010).

Kingsway Industries, Inc.'s TRI-MAX 200 SUPER CAF System is designed specifically for wildfire prevention and produces 4,000 gallons of foam per tank load compared to the 2,400-gallon average. TRI-MAX CAF system's foam is meant to last longer than air-aspirated foam, so fewer trucks are required. A one-ton truck with two operators can transport TRI-MAX systems, so a fire engine is unnecessary. The TRI-MAX 200 SUPER CAF relies on traditional firefighting tactics but aims to offer an inexpensive and compact

In the News

• FORT GARRY FIRE TRUCKS celebrated the grand opening of its new facility by welcoming more than 450 fire chiefs, firefighters, guests, and suppliers to the celebration. Chiefs got to mingle with suppliers at a mini trade show as well as tour the facility. A roast beef dinner was served and a casino night followed. The Dalum Fire Department, Drumheller, Alberta, won the $25,000 credit toward the purchase of a new fire apparatus within the next two years and a trip for two to Florida. The 50,000-square-foot facility has been up and running since the end of January 2013. The new space has allowed the company to specialize in building fire apparatus for all kinds of extreme climates and providing rubber products to its industrial customers.

• EAGLE COMPRESSORS, INC. appointed former Finance Manager Becky Dreier as the new vice president of finance. The position requires Dreier to manage all aspects of accounting and finance work; coordinate external auditor statement reviews; and oversee all administrative departments, material handling, and warehouse operations. Dreier has more than 30 years of experience in accounting and finance at manufacturing companies, half of which she spent in key management positions.

• E-ONE DEALERS and sales representatives were recognized for their outstanding performance over the past year, with individual sales representatives across five different regions of the United States receiving the Regional Sales Excellence Award. Dealerships taking top honors received the Dealership Sales Excellence Award: Fire Service, Inc., Greenwood Emergency Vehicles, Hall-Mark Fire Apparatus, Inc., Sunbelt Fire, and Techno Feu, Inc.; Dealer Achievement Award: Fire Service, Inc.; Dealer Parts Sales Award: Hall-Mark Fire Apparatus, Inc.; and Customer Service Award: Fireline, Inc., Chief Fire & Safety Company, Inc., Greenwood Emergency Vehicles, and Sunbelt Fire.

Sales representatives honored received the Regional Sales Excellence Award for the following regions: Mid Atlantic Region, Randy Powell of Advantech Service & Parts, North Central Region, Tom Pour of Banner Fire Equipment, Inc.; South Central Region, Curtis Gho of Sunbelt Fire; Northeast Region, Bertrand Bouchard of Techno Feu, Inc.; and Southeast Region, Nate Gilman of Hall-Mark Fire Apparatus, Inc. The Sales Achievement Award for the Stainless Steel Product went to John Buckley of Greenwood Emergency Vehicles.

• FDM SOFTWARE and OPEN INC. have formed a partnership and will collectively comarket and support each other's offerings to emergency services agencies through North and South America. FDM Software provides public safety enterprise solutions and OPEN Inc. specializes in manufacturing technology products for EMS services. The companies expect the agreement to enable FDM and OPEN to leverage each other's skills to better serve their clients in North America and to expand their operations in international markets. Each company will train one another's staff to help integrate the companies.

• PIERCE MANUFACTURING INC. received an order for 10 fire apparatuses from Polk County (FL) Fire Rescue. The purchase includes five pumpers, a 100-foot Pierce Aerial Platform, and a heavy-duty rescue/hazmat vehicle, all built on the Pierce® Velocity™ chassis. The order also includes three tandem rear axle tanker-pumper vehicles. The pumpers and aerial platforms feature an optional forward roof cab design that enhances interior space for the crew and improves visibility. The pumpers also feature a 450 hp DD13 engine, Pierce Command Zone® advanced electronics, and a 1,250-gpm si

Alan M. Petrillo

Motiva Enterprises' Norco Manufacturing Complex in Norco, Louisiana, is a dual-use facility that contains a Motiva petroleum refinery and a Shell chemical plant, each presenting unusual hazards in terms of fire prevention and suppression. Add the fact that the complex is a small city complete with office buildings, warehouses, housing, and a web of large and small roadways, and the task of designing a pumper to protect the facility seems daunting.

Last year Michael Mitchell, emergency response manager for the Norco Complex, was faced with developing specifications for two industrial pumpers and an industrial aerial platform in less than a month. "We were advised there was capital available for the apparatus but that we had to put the specs together quickly," Mitchell says. "We contacted Ferrara to help us with the specs for the pumpers." Ferrara ultimately got the job to build two vehicles.

(1) Ferrara Fire Apparatus built two industrial pumpers for Motiva Enterprises' Norco Manufacturing Complex with Hale 8FG 3,000-gpm pumps, 1,000-gallon foam tanks, and 500-gallon water tanks. (Photos courtesy of Ferrara Fire Apparatus unless otherwise noted.)

Specific Requirements

Mitchell says replacing older pumpers was a major concern and that he had specific needs to be met on the new vehicles. "We wanted the pumpers to be on a single axle for better maneuverability, be able to carry 1,000 gallons of foam and 500 gallons of water, and be able to deliver 10,000 gallons per minute (gpm)," he says.

When pumping from the refinery's water system, Mitchell points out, firefighters can tap a great deal of volume and pressure. "We have up to 30-inch water mains throughout the complex," he says. "And, there are eight locations where we can take fire water from a river, wells, and lakes with a pumping capacity of more than 20,000 gpm."

Motiva Enterprises awarded Ferrara the contract for the two pumpers, Mitchell notes, "because we had dealt with them in the past, they are a local provider in our state, they have excellent engineering and sales support, and they turned in the low bid on the two pumpers."

(2) The two industrial pumpers each have two Task Force Tips Monsoon 2,000-gpm monitors at the rear in addition to a Williams Fire & Hazard Control Ambassador 2,000- to 6,000-gpm main deck gun.

Twin Engines

The two pumpers are identical. Each is built on a Ferrara Igniter XMFD four-door custom cab and chassis with a 3⁄16-inch 5052 H32 marine-grade extruded aluminum body with a Cummins 600-horsepower ISX15 diesel engine and Allison 4000 EVS transmission; each carries a Hale 8FG 3,000-gpm pump, a 1,000-gallon foam tank, and a 500-gallon water tank.

Firefighting punch is delivered by a Williams Fire & Hazard Control Hot Shot 2 balanced pressure foam system that can be directed to any or all of three monitors-a Williams Ambassador 2,000- to 6,000-gpm main deck gun and two Task Force Tips (TFT) Monsoon 2,000-gpm monitors at the rear

By Troy Padgett,
Director, ARFF Products,
Oshkosh Corporation

Picture this: A brand new Air Force recruit finishes up his technical training, where he learns everything there is to know about repairing fire trucks. It wasn't until he arrived at his first duty assignment that he realized there was much more to this job than what he learned in school. After all, he grew up in a part of the country where there were no fire trucks. If your house caught on fire, someone grabbed the garden hose while everyone else did their best to haul out the furniture. His recent education taught him the basics but in no way prepared him for what was to follow. In week two of his entry into the real world of aircraft rescue fire fighting (ARFF) vehicle maintenance, he got the "honor" of being assigned as the standby mechanic responsible for any afterhours repair needs at the fire department. Of course, he gets a call on his very first night.

One of the ARFF trucks broke down on the taxiway and had to be moved right away. As he drove in to "save the day," he couldn't help but worry that he had no clue what may be causing the problem with the truck. Fortunately, the firefighter that met him out on the taxiway had been the driver of that particular vehicle for a very long time and knew a lot about his rig. He pointed right to an air valve on the engine and said, "There's your problem, sonny." He was absolutely right, and the repairs were made in short order.

Yes, this is my story, and that night I learned a valuable lesson about building relationships between maintenance teams and firefighters. There are many ways to tackle the maintenance needs on ARFF vehicles, but constant and open communication between the operators and mechanics is at the heart of all successful plans. As mechanics, we need to remind ourselves that our firefighter friends are using these trucks to save lives and property. This is not the lawn mower we are repairing. We have one of the most important jobs in the world-making sure the vehicles we are responsible for are always ready for the stressful duty they will face in an emergency.

Improving Relationships

So let's look at just a few suggestions that may help improve these relationships.

Be present. In a best case scenario, each airport fire department has assigned mechanics on site dedicated to supporting the firefighting fleet. This allows for immediate reaction to any truck deficiencies found during the daily operator checks. Reacting immediately prevents a growing list of issues, which may hinder firefighting operations.

Unfortunately, reality kicks in and tells us that most airports cannot have a full-time fire truck mechanic on staff. In these cases, they use maintenance personnel assigned to a larger organization that also are responsible for all other pieces of equipment at the airport. All is not lost though. If these maintenance groups assign staff members a primary responsibility of supporting the fire department, those team members can take advantage of available training to stay proficient in the ever-changing world of ARFF maintenance. If this is the strategic plan, someone from the assigned group should arrange for a daily check-in with the fire department. During this check-in, they can correct any minor issues or make arrangements to correct larger ones. Either way, you will be able to promote the effort of minimizing defect lists.

Be educated. Training comes in many forms. Many of the daily maintenance challenges are easy to solve with a basic understanding of electrical, hydraulic, air, and mechanical systems. A background in heavy truck maintenance goes a long way when thinking about ARFF service. However, there are a number of systems designed specifically for aircraft firefighting that you will need advanced education to support. The million-dollar question is, &

Chris Mc Loone

CM: How has the F-Shield been received and what led to its development?

CF: It was really a unique theory and process. We all thought, looking at the fire industry, that we really wanted to come up with something that could have a dynamic impact on the fire service throughout the country.

One thing we have seen year after year-that a lot of the frame rails are deteriorating and rusting. So, we reached out to fire departments across the country and found that that is really a growing problem. With some of the corrosive materials they use for salting roads and deicing roads, it's really playing havoc on a lot of the understructure of fire trucks, mainly in the northeast but really all across the country with some of the issues even in the south with salt conditions around Florida and the Gulf Coast areas.

We did some research and we found this product that we think is going to set the bar to solving the rust and corrosion of frame rails. As you know, fire departments have to keep fire trucks longer than any other time before with the tough economy. So, we came out with this idea and it seems to be taking off by storm. I think we set the bar and I think it's going to be a great savings and a mechanic's dream working on these trucks as the trucks get older.

CM: What is the biggest issue in the fire service today and what is Ferrara doing to address it?

CF: I think the biggest issue is the funding-whether it's firefighters getting laid off or funding to purchase equipment. I think we really have a tremendous problem across the world of helping fund fire departments so they can maintain their services. That's a big concern to me and I'm sure it's a big concern to a lot of fire departments. Every time we see our U.S. congressmen [or] our U.S. senators, we tell them day in and day out that they have got to help fund this fire service program. So any time we can reach out to any of our politicians or anyone that will listen to us, we spread the word that we have to have additional help in the fire service to help promote fire safety across the country and help support these fire departments.

CM: What is the most important product Ferrara makes?

CF: That's a tough question. We build so many different products. We're so diverse in building rescues to aerials to specialty units, but what really sets us apart is that we are still a custom builder today. Customers love what we do where we can sit down with a customer and say, "What best fits your needs?" If you want a special compartment size, a special length of body, a special length of chassis, we can do it. It really makes a big difference in my mind that the customer really wants what he wants and why he wants it. And, we want to give it to him and fulfill his needs. So, the most important product is all the products we manufacture. Because whether it's a rescue or an aerial, it's a heavy duty product. We really set the bar of building the heaviest product out there. As Peter [JØrgensen] would say, we have more extrusions in our body. I was nicknamed Mr. Heavy Duty by him many years ago, and we have stuck to that tradition.

CM: What's next for Ferrara?

CF: We are constantly looking for new ideas and new ways to make the product better and last longer. We're known to come up with different innovations and we really like to show our customers how the trucks are built from the inside out. So, you'll see at some of the major trade shows that we actually bring an unfinished body on one side and a painted body on the other side so we can show customers how our product is built from the inside out. The number one goal as we move forward is finding ways to enhance the product to last a lot longer given the restraints of the economy today. But not only that, also making the product safer for the fire departments. Our n