On August 19, 2019, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) announced that Mark Light has retired from his position as CEO and Executive Director.

Mark Light said, “It is with mixed emotions that I announce my retirement. It has been my sincere honor to lead the IAFC as CEO and Executive Director for the past 12 years. IAFC has accomplished many things during my tenure and I am proud of these accomplishments. None of those accomplishments could have happened without the full support of the IAFC Board of Directors and the IAFC staff. I cherish the relationships I’ve developed with so many of individuals over the years. Know that I am sad to step away from working with and for a vibrant and remarkable organization. The fire service is the most noble industry on planet Earth. It has been my sincere privilege to serve this profession for over 42 years.”

IAFC President (2018-19), Dan Eggleston, said, “Under Mark’s leadership, IAFC has expanded learning opportunities and executive fire officer training for leaders and emerging leaders, promoted diversity and inclusion in the fire and emergency service with iDELP and Women Chiefs Council, increased its operating budget from $10.5 million to $22.5 million, relocated its headquarters to a location that is better suited for IAFC business needs, implemented a social media and the conneXions education programs, and experienced a growth in IAFC staff from 32 to 68 employees. On behalf of the Board and the membership, we thank Mark for his contributions and wish him well.”

“We now begin a search for a new CEO and Executive Director to lead IAFC in achieving its short- and long-term strategic goals. The Board and I look forward to working with the next CEO and Executive Director to advance IAFC’s mission of supporting current and future fire and emergency service leaders worldwide through vision, information, education, services and representation to enhance their professionalism and capabilities.”

The Deputy Director will be the interim lead for the organization, reporting directly to the IAFC Board of Directors until the new Executive Director is selected and onboarded. More information regarding the Executive Director position will be available on the IAFC website, www.iafc.org, in the coming weeks.

By Alan M. Petrillo

Cahokia (IL) Fire Department was running a 2003 Ford F-550 with a skid pump unit as a brush truck, but as the department outgrew the capabilities of the vehicle, it began researching how to replace it and with what configuration truck. The department's officers and firefighters, all volunteers operating out of two stations, discussed having a vehicle that could handle car fires, dumpsters, and other hazards as well as brush fires and came up with a list of wants for its new truck.

Cahokia (IL) Fire Department had Unruh Fire build this quick attack industrial/brush truck on a Ford F-550 chassis and crew cab to handle a wide range of fire situations, including serving as a remote monitor truck. (Photos courtesy of Unruh Fire.)

"We wanted to be able to meet the department's needs to cover a number of different kinds of fire situations," says Stephen Robbins, Cahokia's chief. "In addition, in our district, we have a compressed gas facility, an industrial chemical plant, a Phillips Refinery petroleum tank farm, and a number of grain elevators, so we had the need for a mobile monitor platform."

The Unruh-built Cahokia pumper  has two Task Force Tips 1,500-gpm Typhoon remote control monitors on the rear corners of the body that are supplied by standpipes.

The resulting pumper built by Unruh Fire, Robbins says, is on a Ford F-550 chassis and crew cab, powered by a Ford Power Stroke 6.7 liter 300-hp engine, with a Darley 2-1/2 AGE pump run by a 24-hp Kubota diesel engine, a 400-gallon McClarin Plastics polypropylene water tank, a 20-gallon foam cell, and a FoamPro 1601 Class A foam system.

The Cahokia rig has a Darley 2-1/2 AGE pump run by a 24-hp Kubota diesel engine, a 400-gallon McClarin Plastics polypropylene water tank, a 20-gallon foam cell, and a FoamPro 1601 Class A foam system.

But, the rig is far from typical of its class because it also carries two Task Force Tips 1,500-gpm Typhoon monitors on top of the rear of the body, one on each corner. "We call this truck our first attack industrial/brush truck," Robbins notes. "The two Task Force Tips remote control monitors on the back are fed by standpipes, so if there's a fire in one of those big industrial facilities, we can park the truck in a place to deal with the situation, hook up to a water supply, and fight fire and protect exposures. It gives us the option of doing a remote operation so we don't put any firefighters in the danger zone. If for some reason we lose the truck, it's an unmanned $200,000 vehicle, not three firefighters on a $600,000 pumper. This is really a safety issue."

One of the Task Force Tips Typhoon monitors flowing water.

Brad Cashion, owner of Cashion Fire Equ

NESQUEHONING, PA – August 16, 2019 – KME Fire Apparatus, an industry leading manufacturer of fire apparatus, announces the delivery of (12) twelve KME custom pumpers and (2) two KME tractor-drawn aerials (TDA) to Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD).
 
The new trucks will join hundreds of KME apparatus currently in service at the LACoFD. The custom pumpers are built on KME’s Severe Service^TM cab. The Severe Service^TM cab was engineered for heavy-duty use and has been exposed to high-volume calls with over a million miles of real-world testing.

 
The 12 new LACoFD custom pumpers include:

• 96” KME Predator™ Severe Service cab
• 175” wheelbase for tight turning radius
• Cummins X12 500 hp engine and Allison EVS 4000 transmission
• Hale QMax 1500 GPM pump
• Hale Smart Foam system
• Hale CBP250 Auxiliary PTO pump for pump and roll
• 500 gallon stainless steel water tank with 25 gallons of class A foam
• KME lock-n-load hose bed cover, which provides a strong aluminum tread plate working surface that can easily and safely be lifted for hose repacking with a short raised height for operations in low clearance

The two AerialCat^TM Tractor Drawn Aerials feature the following:

• KME Severe Service^TM cab
• Cummins X15 600 hp engine and Allison EVS 4500 transmission
• Waterous S100 2,000 GPM pump
• AerialCat™ 101’ ladder with a 350-gallon water tank
• Equipment capacity of double the NFPA requirement of an aerial ladder
• Integrated hosebed with the capacity of 800’ of 4” hose
• 225’ of wooden ground ladders

The Los Angeles County Fire Authority is supported by REV Fire Group sales and service center in Jurupa Valley, California. This operation offers a robust network of sales, parts, and service to support LA County with both mobile and service center support.

For more information on these units please contact Stephen Carleton at scarleton@kmefire.com or 800-235-3928, your local KME dealer or visit our website at http://kmefire.com/support/dealer-locator.

About KME: 

KME is a part of REV Group (NYSE:REVG), a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of specialty vehicles and related aftermarket parts and services. KME engineers and custom manufactures a full range of specialty trucks for federal, industrial, commercial, aviation and municipal markets. Additional information on KME can be found at kmefire.com or by emailing to kme@kmefire.com.                                               

Courtesy Binder Lift

After suffering a spinal cord injury, Danielle thought she would never be able to climb again. Thanks to a Binder Lift, she was able to climb a rock wall.

What is your favorite hobby? What if you could not participate, only watch, that hobby for almost two years? How amazing would it be to once again be able to participate in your hobby!

One and a half years ago, Danielle suffered a spinal cord injury after a medical procedure. She also now has limited use of her left leg. Prior to the injury, Danielle and her husband participated in rock climbing. For most people, this would be the end of their climbing career. For Danielle, it was just a rest period!

During this rest period, Danielle moved on with her life, raising a family and being crowned as the reigning Ms. Wheelchair Washington.

But she still missed climbing.

She approached the nonprofit Courageous Kids Climbing as she knew the organization would soon be making its annual visit to Central Washington University (CWU) in Ellensburg, Washington. Prior to her injury, she had seen her brother and sister, who have special needs, participate in the free climbing event for people with special needs, physical or developmental. Event coordinator Jeff Riechmann informed her that she was more than welcome to come out and climb with the other courageous climbers.

The day of the event, Riechmann, working with the recreation staff at CWU, fitted her with a Binder-lift. The Binder-Lift is a lifting device that was designed to assist emergency medical personnel with lifting patients who might be overweight or in an awkward position, reducing the risk of injury the medical team.

Riechmann of Courageous Kids Climbing pointed out: “We have been using Binder-Lifts for several years now at our events. It allows us to take a climber with physical challenges and share the climbing experience with them.”

The Binder-Lift is a nylon wrap that is secured around the torso of a patient. The exterior of the wrap has several handles which allow several people to safely lift a patient, once the patient is secured in the Binder-Lift.

Riechmann added: “With Danielle, we placed her in the Binder-Lift and with the support of the coaching staff, walked her to the climbing area. Once at the climbing wall, Danielle then started to climb while three members of the coaching staff supported her by lifting up on the handles on the Binder-Lift.”

“Without the Binder-Lift, Danielle would never have gotten off of the ground!”

After Danielle climbed horizontal across the wall with the help of the coaching staff, she was the placed in a regular climbing harness and was able to climb the walls of the climbing facility.

“The Binder-Lift has allowed us on numerous occasions to share the climbing experience with those individuals who have physical challenges, with no risk to the climber or the coaches. When Courageous Kids Climbing arrives at one of our events, the Binder-Lift is always one of the first items removed from our equipment cache. I would definitely encourage physical and occupational therapists to consider adding a Binder-Lift to their tool box,” said Riechmann.