By Bill Adams

There’s an old saying that a watched pot never boils. White hairs believe pots must be stirred occasionally to keep stuff from sticking to the bottom. When there’s too much unstirred kitchen talk in the firehouse, troops can develop sedentary mindsets. That’s when brains coagulate and start sticking to the skull.

A sedentary mindset means things are running smooth; don’t rock the boat and keep all ideas of changing things to yourself. Addressing sedentary mindsets is the solemn obligation of the raisin squad. Bringing up the past might trigger the new breed’s thought process, although most newbies cringe whenever old timers show up for morning coffee.

The attached photograph of a 1954 semi-cab American La France pumper was brought in to stir the pot. I proclaimed its major improvement over older rigs was mounting the air packs on the front of the pump house so firefighters could stand and pack-up en route. There weren’t any seat belts getting in the way. Besides, if you were on the fluffy side, you hardly fit in the jump seats. The young guys were flabbergasted.

I mentioned safety concerns led to purchasing an enclosed cab with open jump seats in 1974. But the Warner & Swasey cab had less jump seat room than the La France. Its Waukesha gas engine ran so hot you didn’t dare rest a bare arm on the treadplate engine enclosure. Although you still had to stand to pack-up en route, I said at least they improved the air pack holders by enclosing them with vinyl covers. That convinced the young guys us old people are beyond repair.

Most firefighters have an inherent compulsion to complain; it must relieve stress. I’ve done my share: First they put doors and roofs on our ap

Ladder Tower—Syracuse (NY) Fire Department Telesqurt rehab. Spartan Gladiator cab and chassis; Cummins X12 500-hp engine; Hale Qmax 2,000-gpm pump; UPF Poly 500-gallon water tank; two 20-gallon foam cells; 50-foot Telesqurt; FoamPro 2001 dual-agent foam system; new torque box and total refurb of aerial, body, pump compartment, plumbing, and valves. Dealer: Ladder Tower, Lancaster, PA.

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Cameron Probert

Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.)

(MCT)

Aug. 22—KENNEWICK, Wa. — The stretch of the Columbia River along Benton County’s southern border used to be a lonely place to get in trouble.

Rescue crews had drive from the Tri-Cities, taking an hour to get into the water.

For the last month though, firefighters and sheriff’s deputies quickly rescued several people from a sinking boat, helped a stranded boater and responded to an emergency beacon.

The faster response was thanks to a used boat that Benton County Fire District 6 was able to buy from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office for $2,500.

Normally, similar boats cost about $250,000. And that’s far beyond the budget of the largely volunteer fire district with an annual budget of $900,000.

“We couldn’t afford it otherwise,” said Fire Chief Rolland Watt. “We’re in the process of trying to replace some of the aging vehicles. The land-based responses would have to come first.”

He credited Interim Benton County Sheriff Jon Law with brokering the deal with the county co

By Alan M. Petrillo

E-ONE has built a pair of HR100 aerial ladder trucks for Omaha (NE) Fire Department on single rear axles to address the department’s need for a more maneuverable aerial than that of a dual rear axle version.

Jim Schurkamp, engineer with Omaha Fire’s Technical Services Division, maintains that single rear axle aerials are much easier to maintain than dual rear axle aerials because they have a single set of brakes, bearings, and other associated equipment. “We have seven trucks that are straight sticks, and two tower platforms, with no pumps or tanks on any of our aerials,” Schurkamp says. “We have approximately 650 paid firefighters staffing 24 stations, and each of our aerials and engines are staffed with four firefighters, except for our water tenders and medical units.”

Joe Hedges, product manager for chassis and aerials at E-ONE, says each of the two HR100 aerials are built on a Cyclone chassis and cab with a 100-foot welded extruded aluminum ladder that has a 2.5 to 1 structural safety factor, powered by a 500-horsepower (hp) Cummins X12 diesel engine and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission. “The aerials have extruded aluminum bodies with 10 compartments covered by ROM rollup doors, a pinnable waterway to the tip and 500-pound tip load wet or dry, a high angle of departure, and a bobbed-off back to allow the rig to get around streets more easily,” he notes.

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