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."
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| 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