The Milford (OH) Community Fire Department is located 20 miles east of downtown Cincinnati. It protects the city of Milford from a single fire and emergency medical services (EMS) station on Route 50 near Milford Parkway. The city of Milford is 3.45 square miles and has a population of 6,709 residents. The department covers Milford and parts of Clermont and Hamilton counties. The coverage area includes 35% commercial property, 35% residential, and 30% undeveloped.

District Chief Nick Thiele states, “Our response district covers an older business district dating back to 1800, with updates made to bring it up to today’s standards. We also have new condos, light industrial areas, and a lot of bed-and-breakfast-type structures, as well as strip shopping centers, a soccer team facility, schools, and four hotels. So, we really have a diverse area to deal with in our community.”

In August 2000, the department started looking into replacing an older pumper. The department keeps an eye on what big departments in other cities purchase to replace their apparatus. “We wanted something that was easy to maintain and operate, and would work in our response area,” Thiele said.

Thiele, who headed up the department’s apparatus replacement committee, says, “The department usually operates on replacing apparatus on a 20-year period. We wanted a new vehicle — not a used apparatus. Our decisions are based on, of course, not only our budget, but also on how an apparatus is holding up for our department.”

“Our department decided to go with an FDNY spec but with minor changes,” he said. “There were modifications made to the dashboard, so it mirrored our other pumpers, and the pump module was changed. There are also crosslays we went with and an FDNY low hosebed, as well. The low hosebed makes it a great deal easier for our firefighters on the fireground.”

The rig carries 200 feet of 1-inch booster line, 300 feet of 2½-inch suppression line from the rear, 1,500 feet of 3-inch supply line, three 200-foot 1¾-inch crosslays, two 10-foot sections of 4½-inch hard sleeves, and two 10-foot sections of 2½-inch hard sleeves. The rig also carries a 24-foot extension ladder, a 14-foot roof ladder, and a 10-foot folding attic ladder.

“Since we are a privately operated fire department, we didn’t have to go out to bid, so we were lucky to be able to go with Seagrave,” Thiele said. “Our department has dealt with Seagrave in the past with previous apparatus purchases, so we were familiar with the brand. This familiarity helped us with the FDNY specs on this pumper.”

The engine, E72, serves as the second-out engine for structure-related responses and motor vehicle accidents in the city. When the department is called upon for mutual aid with neighbor departments, E72 is the unit that responds.

The pumper was designed and equipped as a basic engine. However, it can be upfitted with advanced life support (ALS) and basic rescue equipment as necessary for first-out service when the pr

West Warwick Fire Station 2, damaged in March when a pumper snagged one side of it, has been repaired and the apparatus returned, the department said in a Facebook post Wednesday, Nov. 20.

“We are happy to announce that Engine 2 and Rescue 2 have returned to Station 2 at 834 Main Street in the Phenix section of town,” the department said.

A hydraulically-powered hatch on the side of the truck opened as it was responding to a call in March, turnto10.com reported.

As the pumper moved forward, it pulled on the building, yanking a post out of the ground, the report said. The accident forced West Warwick Station 2 out of service.

The overhead garage door also crashed down on the truck, but officials said it suffered little damage, according to the report.

A fire official said he was surprised at how long repairs took, but added that structural upgrades were needed to preserve the integrity of building, the report said.

The overhead door was made about two feet wider and a foot-and-a-half taller to provide more room for fire apparatus. And the building was given a new coat of paint.

The Franklin Fire Company in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania announced that it has been awarded $677,000 from the Local Share Account grant, the company said in a Facebook post Thursday, Oct. 24.

LSA grant money comes from the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act.

Funds from this grant will be used toward the purchase of a new Pierce engine.

“We’d like to thank Senator Mastriano and his staff, Representative Kauffman and his staff, Franklin County Commissioners Office and their staff, Hamilton Township Supervisors and their staff, and the Commonwealth Financing Authority,” the company said in the post.

By Chris Mc Loone

I caught up with Jamie Emblem, co-owner and northeast regional sales for Mercedes Textiles, and Lydia Jackson, director of marketing for Mercedes Textiles, to discuss the origins of the company, its product lines (it is more than a hose manufacturer), and its “Know Your Hose” program.

CM: Give a brief history of Mercedes Textiles.

JE: We started off manufacturing Polyflex®, which is a cabinet hose for interior fire protection. They found a patent on the way they uniquely line our fire hoses. It’s trademarked under the name Mertex®. From there, they expanded into wildland/forestry hoses and then eventually into attack hoses that I’m sure most of the U.S. fire service knows us best for. We were really founded on cutting edge technology with different innovations that had huge advantages in the fire service—less friction loss, for example. We have a fused-in liner system that does not delaminate, which was a huge problem.

We’ve really put a focus on double-jacket attack hose and have come out with some very lightweight, kink-resistant, high-flowing hose. We say they’re lightweight, but that doesn’t mean we sacrificed any raw materials. That’s actually because we’re using better raw materials.

LJ: We were founded in 1978 and, at that point, we really only made two different types of hoses. We had about nine looms at the time. A few years later, we created the Mertex lining, and we moved our offices from Ontario to Quebec. In the 1990s, we expanded again and realized we needed to really push ourselves to create more variety in municipal lines, and that’s about the time that Bob Richardson, our current president, came onboard. His focus was taking our municipal lines to another level and working on how we solve the problems of municipal hose,creating lighter hose and hose that doesn’t delaminate. We now have over 60 patents to our name.

CM: As you said, many in the United States know Mercedes Textiles for your hose products, but you actually do more than that. Would you go over your other product lines?

JE: We have the fire hose division, which you know. We also have a very large wildland division—in fact, we’re one of the world’s largest forestry hose manufacturers thanks to our patented weeping hose that is used by nearly all of Canada and many other countries.

Beyond hose, we also manufacture the full line of WICK® portable pumps from ultra-lightweight 3.5 hp to high-power 23 hp, as well as inline accessories. We like to say we go “from the foot valve to the nozzle” on the forestry side, including gated wyes, water thieves, hose stranglers, and more.

Our industrial division includes hoses for other uses like cleanup, snowmaking, and the cabinet hose Mercedes was founded on. We make everything for our hose in house. We’re the only shop in North America that manufactures both the coupling and hose under one roof.

CM: What makes Mercedes Textiles fire hose unique?

JE: Basically we start with the Mertex lining technology. It totally encapsulates the weave, and it creates a very smooth surface. It is inseparable. Like I said before: zero delamination. It has a huge advantage in cold weather flexibility. About five years ago, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1961, Standard on Fire Hose, released a new standard for radiant and counduc- tive heat testing. Because of the lining, these hoses do not catastrophically fail; they start weeping, self protecting. Despite being lighter, we actually put more raw material and use higher quality materials to make a premium attack hose with exceptional durability, kink r