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Welcome

The Finest Supporting the Bravest!

The purpose of the Fire Mechanics Section is to promote standardization of fire apparatus and equipment preventative maintenance, improve safety standards and practices, promote workshops, conferences, and seminars related to the purposes of this Section, and to promote cost savings through standardization of building and equipment purchasing and maintenance.

RECENT FIRE MECHANIC NEWS

Posted: Apr 1, 2019

Editor's Opinion: My FDIC International Wish List

Editor’s Opinion Chris Mc Loone

My FDIC International Wish List

April has finally arrived and with it the beginning of the trade show season with FDIC International 2019.

North America’s largest conference and exhibition is an almost perfect marriage between fire service products and training and learning. The flow of the week moves from hands-on training to classroom learning to the exhibits, where the learning continues. Having used many of the products on the show floor during the hands-on training sessions, FDIC International attendees get the chance to learn more about each product on the exhibit floor. It really doesn’t get any better than that.

Every year as we get close to the “big event,” I spend a lot of time making appointments, scheduling video shoots, and planning the week. Over the years, the week has become a precise, well-oiled machine. Yet, every year I find myself going into the week with a wish list of sorts. Here are a few FDIC International 2019 Wish List items for attendees—and me.

Ample time. As Editorial Advisory Board Member Rich Marinucci often says, FDIC International is a tough show to cover without careful planning. Attendees can’t spend time with every exhibitor, but hopefully all attendees have enough time with the vendors they get to see to flesh out a new product as completely as possible. Ample time also applies to hands-on training and classroom sessions. Hopefully, all attendees have enough time to get the answers they need about a training evolution or topic.
See the entire event. It’s hard to spend the entire week at FDIC International, but to really get the full experience and understand how it is all connected, it’s best to be a part of the entire event. I hope as many as possible get to see it from start to finish.
Products for crash avoidance. A pet peeve of mine for some time has been the number of rigs being hit while parked. As I’ve noted before, we ride to and from the fireground in the most sophisticated and safe vehicles we have ever had. My hope is that the industry has put its thinking cap on and has come up with a few new products for us to use to work toward reducing these crashes. But, I also hope that attendees take time to really look at them vs. walking by, saying out loud that something would make a good feature on a new rig, and then walking away without stopping to ask about it.
Fire trucks and more fire trucks. I can’t help it. I love looking at fire trucks, and climbing up on one always brings me back to when I was a kid climbing on one for the first time. Every year, it’s almost like there aren’t enough, and then every year it seems like there are more than the year before. I love it

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Manufacturers Continue to Refine and Improve Aerial Designs

Posted: Apr 1, 2019

Manufacturers Continue to Refine and Improve Aerial Designs

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Manufacturers Continue to Refine and Improve Aerial Designs

BY ALAN M. PETRILLO

Fire apparatus makers have introduced a number of new and redesigned models of aerial ladders and platforms with the aim of improving the ease of use and safety of their rigs as well as wringing out a little extra working length on the aerials.

ROSENBAUER

Rosenbauer has introduced a new aerial model to its aerial vehicle lines, the new King Cobra. Dave Reichman, Rosenbauer’s national sales manager, says the King Cobra is part of the Cobra platform line and is a 100-foot model that changes the fly section, the last eight feet of the aerial, to an articulated fly. “The articulated fly on the King Cobra is similar to that used on our telescopic box boom design on the T-Rex,” Reichman says.

1 Rosenbauer has introduced the 101-foot King Cobra aerial ladder platform that has the last eight feet of the aerial set up as an articulated fly section. (Photo courtesy of Rosenbauer.)

There are several benefits to using an articulated aerial, Reichman points out. “There are a lot more commercial and retail buildings with big parapets, and the articulated fly allows firefighters to get over them easily,” Reichman says. “The articulated fly also can be used for below-grade water rescues. In addition, articulation allows the operator to set the platform on the ground at any place around the truck, even the front, and allows for working in tight alleys and streets for both rescue and fire suppression activities.”

Reichman notes that Rosenbauer did not redesign its aerial or torque box structures for the new rig. “It uses the same tried-and-true Rosenbauer ladder,” he says. “We didn’t lighten the aerial or change the torque box structure but rather shifted the weight of where the pump and other equipment are located.”

PIERCE MANUFACTURING

Tim Smits, senior sales manager for aerial products at Pierce Manufacturing Inc., says Pierce’s newest ladders are the AscendantÂ® series aerial models, which put a 107-foot aerial on a single-rear-axle chassis. “The Ascendant series offers lighter weight coupled with higher performance as well as a lower cost of ownership,” Smits says. “There also are the benefits of getting better performance out of the drivetrain and engine and better stopping distances.”

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Fire Apparatus Rollovers, Part 3

Posted: Apr 1, 2019

Fire Apparatus Rollovers, Part 3

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G-Force: How Much Is Too Much?

BY CHRIS DALY

In “Rollover Threshold and G-Force” (February, 2019), we continued to discuss lateral g-force. Lateral g-force is the evil force that is continually trying to make a fire apparatus flip over or lose control. Fire apparatus operators must have a thorough understanding of lateral g-force so they are better able to operate a vehicle safely.

G-FORCE REVIEW

During February’s discussion, we learned that if the amount of lateral g-force exceeds the rollover threshold of the vehicle, the vehicle will roll over. And if a vehicle rolls over, it clearly indicates that the vehicle was driven in excess of its handling capabilities. As an example, if the rollover threshold of an engine is 0.62, and the fire apparatus operator is rounding a curve at a speed that places 0.61 lateral g’s on the vehicle, he is driving the vehicle at nearly 100 percent of its capability. Under no circumstances should a fire apparatus operator drive so close to the upper limits of the apparatus’s capabilities! Driving in this manner leaves no room for error. Therefore, it is important for the fire apparatus operator to understand how to judge the amount of lateral g-force acting on a vehicle based on the sensation of g-force the driver experiences on his body.

Â An example of a g-meter I purchased online. This is an extremely useful teaching tool when used by a trained instructor. (Photo by author.)

1 An example of a g-meter I purchased online. This is an extremely useful teaching tool when used by a trained instructor. (Photo by author.)

The concept of sensing g-force is known to pilots as “flying by the seat of your pants.” A good pilot is able to safely operate his airplane without reading the instruments on the dashboard. This is because an experienced pilot is able to correlate the sensation of g-force he is experiencing to the performance, behavior, and limitations of the airplane. This understanding of how to read g-force with your body and understand when things are getting uncomfortable and unsafe is a key aspect of safe driving.

TRAINING

So, we must ask ourselves, at what point will the sensation of lateral g-force start to make us feel uncomfortable? Depending on the reference source, many experts believe that once the lateral g-force exceeds 0.20 to 0.30 g, a driver will start to feel uncomfortable. In fact, many highway design manuals recommend limiting curve speeds and curve designs to keep the lateral g-force under 0.20 g. By keeping the lateral g-force under 0.20, it will help to mitigate the feeling of discomfort felt by the driver. This is important because once a driver begins to feel uncomfortable, he may panic and make an inappropriate steering or braking maneuver. It is often this inappropriate steering or braking maneuver that leads to a crash. This is especially true in a vehicle with a high center of gravity, where there is little margin for error.

Fortunately, a safe and professional fire apparatus operator will never allow the

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Tractor-Drawn Aerials Continue to Enjoy Resurgence

Posted: Apr 1, 2019

Tractor-Drawn Aerials Continue to Enjoy Resurgence

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Tractor-Drawn Aerials Experience Resurgence in Popularity

BY ALAN M. PETRILLO

The heritage of today’s tractor-drawn aerials (TDAs) can be traced back to the late 1800s when the trailers were first given rear steering but were still drawn by horses. Horsepower (hp) today still powers TDAs but in an engine-driven form, yet TDAs, also known as tillers, retain their advantages of maneuverability, versatility, and equipment-carrying capacity.

MANEUVERABILITY

Paul Christiansen, aerial sales manager for Ferrara Fire Apparatus, says that an aerial’s maneuverability “is more important than ever before, especially where a lot of new development is in apartment complexes and downtown commercial areas where buildings are tightly packed. The maneuverability of a TDA is so much better, especially in making tight turns, than compared with a nontiller truck.”

Ferrara Fire Apparatus built this 101-foot TDA on an Igniter chassis powered by a 600-hp Cummins engine and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission. (Photo courtesy of Ferrara Fire Apparatus.)

1 Ferrara Fire Apparatus built this 101-foot TDA on an Igniter chassis powered by a 600-hp Cummins engine and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission. (Photo courtesy of Ferrara Fire Apparatus.)

Pete Hoherchak, product manager of aerials for KME, agrees that maneuverability is the number one advantage in using a TDA, followed by the ability to carry a large amount of ground ladders and having lots of compartmentation. “You are able to get the truck down tight streets and alleys and into tight fire scenes where you wouldn’t be able to get a rear-mount aerial,” Hoherchak observes.

KME built two 101-foot AerialCat™ TDAs for the Honolulu (HI) Fire Department on Severe Service™ LFD cabs with 18-inch raised roofs and prepiped waterways. (Photo courtesy of KME.)

2 KME built two 101-foot AerialCat™ TDAs for the Honolulu (HI) Fire Department on Severe Service™ LFD cabs with 18-inch raised roofs and prepiped waterways. (Photo courtesy of KME.)

He notes that a TDA tractor without a pump or water tank has a wheelbase of 141 inches. “Wherever the tractor can go, the trailer can follow,” Hoherchak says. And when setting up in tight spaces, the width of the jack spread is important, he says, citing KME’s 14-foot jack spread on its Read more