Breda, IA (July 20, 2021) – After a pause in events due to COVID-19, FDIC International is back, and Toyne will be exhibiting at the event once again. FDIC International is one of the largest fire industry expos in the world and is hosted in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Iowa-based fire apparatus manufacturer will have a booth at the Indiana Convention Center from August 5-7. At the booth, attendees will be greeted with two customized Toyne demo apparatus, an aerial, and a PRV (Priority Response Vehicle) XL.

“We’re eager to return to FDIC and demonstrate our customization capabilities and connect with the thousands of industry professionals that attend this event,” said Michael Schwabe, President of Toyne, Inc. “Being present at this large industry stage–with our custom-built PRV and aerial apparatus–allows us to show what Toyne stands for and how our apparatus help others perform at their highest level while taking the call.”

The first apparatus Toyne is displaying at FDIC is a fully customized PRV XL. This PRV was built around a Spartan Metro Star EMFD chassis with a 10” raised roof. Powering this highly capable apparatus is a 450-horsepower Cummins engine and an Allison 3000 EVS transmission. The demo apparatus has a 1,000-gallon UPF tank, an enclosed 1,750 GPM side-mount Hale Qmax XS pump, and an Akron Deckmaster 2440 monitor for fire suppression. The PRV XL also boasts Toyne’s customized storage solutions.

The main attraction at the company’s booth, however, will be a Toyne Tailored Aerial apparatus. Mounted on a Spartan Metro Star MFD Chassis, this aerial has seating for up to six firefighters and also boasts a 10” raised roof. The powertrain consists of a Cummins ISL 450-horsepower engine and an Allison 3000 EVS transmission. Other customizations include a 75-foot rear mount LTC steel ladder with an Akron remote-controlled monitor. The aerial has two independently controlled out and down type outrigger systems. Water is stored in a 500-gallon UPF tank and pumped at 2,000 gallons per minute with its Hale Qmax pump.

Toyne will have their demo units on display at booth #2039 in the Indiana Convention Center. Representatives of Toyne will be at the booth, ready to answer any questions about the demo apparatus, Toyne’s capabilities, and how the company can meet the needs of fire departments.

Keep tabs on all things Toyne and FDIC by following the fire apparatus manufacturer on their social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

By Bill Adams

The other day I was looking at an online video taken inside the cab of a rig responding “lights and siren” to a working building fire. It was interesting, informative, and really got the juices flowing. I wanted to change the date on my driver’s license, dye my hair, practice walking upright without assistance, and submit a membership application to the local fire department. But common sense prevailed.

I believe photographs and videos of fireground action are invaluable learning tools; even raisins can learn something from them. Publishers and editors are forever in a quandary when their postings show “questionable” fireground procedures, tactics, and actions. The top of my list is showing firefighters not wearing full rubber goods. The older generation calls them rubber goods; the middle generation says turnout gear; and the new breed says personal protective clothing or PPE—it’s all the same stuff.

Censorship?

The topic of showing “questionable” photographs was kicked around by the raisin squad at morning coffee. Mr. Miserable said, “Call it what you want. If you ain’t wearing the gear and you get hurt, you ain’t getting any sympathy.” Sympathy was not the question, showing “questionable” photos was. One geezer agreed that fire scene videos and photographs were learning tools. Another said each posting should be labelled “How to do it” or “How NOT to do it.” One member of the bleeding hearts club said it wasn’t right to embarrass a fire department.

We argued and agreed it is a major dilemma for publishers. Should they show an engine company slow-walking and monkey-diddling around for five minutes before getting water on a fire? Do they show two firefighters starting to throw an extension ladder before realizing it is upside down? Is it “proper” to publish a photo of a crew using hydraulic rescue tools without eye or hand protection? Mistakes happen. Perhaps they shouldn’t be advertised.

Should the fire service media only publish the good stuff—you know, just photos and videos showing the “proper” ways of firefighting? Who decides what is proper? Is that censorship? One geezer said they ought to show everything just the way it happened and let people decide for themselves. Another said they shouldn’t allow any negative commentary and publishers should not publish letters to the editor that are critical of particular fireground tactics and procedures. That might be the best solution, but it also could be a type of censorship. I recall one of my high school teachers saying we are taught history because we can learn from our mistakes. I agree—you can’t learn it if you don’t see it. Anyhow, it is the publishers’ problem.

Hypocrisy?

Getting back to the video shot from inside the responding apparatus. It was taken from a forward-facing seat in the crew cab. It appeared to be a well-functioning crew. The firefighters facing rearward on each side of the motor were buckling up their coats and strapping on air packs including the belt buckles. Flashlights were being clipped on and portable radios were pocketed with the microphones attached to the SCBA straps. The officer kept repeating updates heard on the radio. The liberal use of the siren and airhorns met my approval! Yep, you could be proud of that crew—they were getting ready to work.

Then I reread the caption; it said the video was taken by a helmet camera. What? Wearing a helmet inside the cab? That’s a no-no. When reviewing it again, there was a loose helmet sitting up front on the motor’s tunnel. That’s another no-no. And the two firefighters gearing-up and packing-up weren’t wearing seat belts. How could they? A qu

Spartan ER—Wake Forest (NC) Fire Department 105-foot TDA quint. Spartan Gladiator tractor cab and chassis; Cummins X15 600-hp engine; Waterous CXS 1,500-gpm pump; Pro Poly 200-gallon polypropylene water tank; Harrison 8-kW generator; 4-section 105-foot aerial ladder with waterway; Spartan Advanced Occupant Protection System. Dealer: Atlantic Coast Fire Trucks, Denver, NC.

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The Brockway Borough Council spent $400 to buy a hose cart in 1904 and has brought the equipment home, reports Courier Express.

The apparatus is a wooden cart that two firefighters would pull to the scene of a fire. It runs on two wood-spoke wheels and had a box for supplies, a place to roll up a hose, and may have once had a hand pump to pump water.

The Brockway Volunteer Hose Company, then called the Brockwayville Volunteer Hose Company, was founded on Jan. 16, 1904. The hose cart was repainted sometime in the 1970s, and various pieces were replaced to hold it together.