By Bill Adams

Firematic trade shows are great places for Raisin Squad members from different locales to compare notes, lie to each other, and pass judgement on the things we’ve seen, read or heard. And if challenged on accuracy or truthfulness, we can blame age, failing eyesight or defective hearing aid batteries. One white hair told a tale about a rural water supply seminar he attended where the instructor gave the scenario of a small farmhouse fire. The objective was to maintain a continuous 1,000 gallon-per-minute flow for two hours with tankers. One old guy questioned the instructor: “After two hours, dontcha think the fire should’ve gone out?”

One geezer said he and another were rubber-necking the end of what was a well involved attic fire. On the C-side they saw a small freshly dug trench or trough that was running perpendicular to and about 50 feet away from the house. It was about a foot wide, almost two-foot deep and over six-feet long. They couldn’t figure out what the hell it was. The light came on after they looked back at the house. The trough was in line with an open second-floor window, half of the burned off roof, and directly aligned with the ladder pipe that was still up in the air. “Brilliant. How much water did they waste on that?”

At one morning coffee the Raisins who remembered their glasses were commenting (second guessing) about some of the articles found in the magazines left on the table. “Look at this. This company’s having a nationwide tour showing off all their rigs. How much do you think that’s gonna cost?” One perceptive white hair said to read between the lines. “They’re bring’n eight rigs and six of them are ladder trucks.  Guess what market they’re trying to capture.” A testament to their commitment to the fire service is bringing multiple configurations of aerial devices to display side-by-side on a nationwide basis.
 
 An article about tactics and strategy got the raisins in a tizzy. It had a statement that any fire attack is impacted by response time, water supply, and staffing. It’s a valid observation, but was the subject of diverse geezer opinions that weren’t so convincing. “Yeah, if they put bigger motors in today’s rigs, they could go faster and get there quicker.” Another said, “They need bigger booster tanks. And, those damn playpipes (smoothbore nozzles) are no good; straight tips use up too much water. They should stick to fog nozzles.” Most of the comments about staffing can’t be repeated. They aren’t politically correct. In fact, they’re borderline sexist, bigoted, and biased against anyone not old enough to collect Social Security.

The latter comment reignited earlier heated discussions about how old is too old for someone to be humping hose, throwing ladders, driving apparatus, or even directing traffic. One geezer brought us back to reality, showing us an article describing the line-of-duty deaths that occurred a month or so earlier. There were four. A 30-year-old career firefighter who complained of not feeling well while on duty the day before suffered a major stroke and eventually passed away—tragic for such a young man with a family. The other three deaths were suffered by volunteers 78, 73, and 75 years of age. One suffered a medical emergency and the other a heart attack while responding to an alarm. Neither survived. The last passed away of cardiac arrest after returning home from a firematic drill. While equ

Galesburg (IL) Fire Department rear-mount aerial ladder quint. Spartan Metro Star cab and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; heavy-duty stainless-steel body with galvanized sub frame; 78-foot 3-section RK Ladders aerial ladder.

The North American Fire Training Directors (NAFTD) is seeking to hire an Executive Director to manage the professional organization. NAFTD announced it is looking for a dynamic individual to move the organization forward, expand membership, and adapt to the fire service industry’s opportunities and challenges. The position will be responsible for the creation of plans and programs that will effectively meet the needs of membership and support the growth and reputation of NAFTD.

Position qualification requirements include demonstrated experience managing a complex membership organization and exemplary communication skills. The position will report to the five-member NAFTD Board of Directors. Organizations interested in filling the position will be required to assign a single individual dedicated to the job performance responsibilities to fulfill the role.

NAFTD President, John Cunningham, states, “NAFTD has been the voice of State, Provincial, and Territorial fire service training for many years and we are excited to be looking for our first Executive Director to be the face of our organization ensuring that our mission is fulfilled through programs, strategic planning and stakeholder outreach.”

NAFTD will accept position Statements of Proposal through 4pm CST on Friday, September 13, 2019. Proposals arriving after the date and time specified will be declared non-responsive and will not be considered for evaluation. Application materials should be sent via e-mail to NAFTD President, John Cunningham at jcunningham@fireschool.ca. While electronic communication is preferred, documents that must be mailed may be sent to: John Cunningham, President, NAFTD, 48 Powder Mills Road, Waverley, NS B2R1E9.

Get more information HERE (PDF).

The North American Fire Training Directors (NAFTD) is a national 501(c)(3) corporation comprised of fire training directors from North America, committed to be a primary point of contact for state, provincial and territorial fire training agencies as well as the federal government, while improving and establishing best practices as advocates for fire training, education, information and research. On an annual basis, the combined efforts of NAFTD members provide training and education programs to more than one million career and volunteer fire service personnel in the United States and Canada. NAFTD serves as a forum to enhance and enrich fire training and education programs and their administrators. Additional information regarding NAFTD and its membership is available at www.naftd.org.

Being a smaller department, the Parker Fire Department built in as many labor saving devices as possible on its new E-ONE Custom Typhoon Pumper including foam system, generator for scene lights, cord reel, hydraulic ladder rack and more.

• Truck Type: Custom pumper
• Fire Department Name: Parker (AZ) Fire Department
• Dealer Name: H&E Equipment Services
• Body: Extruded aluminum
• Chassis: Typhoon X medium cab with 58″ CA
• Axle: Single
• Engine: Cummins L9 450 hp
• Tank: 750-Gallon “T” water tank with 30-gallon foam cell
• Pump: Hale Qmax 1,500-gpm single-stage pump