Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) company, announces the roll-out of clean cab features that support carcinogen awareness and reduction to exposure (CARE). CARE is the result of the guidance of the voice of customer research in conjunction with the Florida Firefighter Safety and Health Collaborative and the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. With firefighters’ growing awareness of the increased occupational risk of exposure to carcinogens, Pierce’s CARE-focused clean cab features offer custom fire truck design elements that can reduce immediate and lingering carcinogen exposure risks through easier-to-clean seats and interior surfaces, high-impact HVAC filtration for reduced particle circulation, warm water rinse availability, and more.  

“Research has shown that firefighters have a nine-percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14% higher mortality rate than the general U.S. population,” said Keith Tyson, vice president, education and research for the Firefighter Cancer Support Network. “Sharing vital research and knowledge with the fire service community, partnering organizations, and apparatus manufacturers has helped in the development of tools and practices that can be put into place to create healthier workplaces and save lives.” 

To date, more than 250 Pierce dealer representatives have been trained on the aspects of the CARE initiative by members of the Florida Firefighter Safety & Health Collaborative, as well as the educational information and apparatus features available to support exposure reduction and elimination.

“As conversations and research around the topic of carcinogen exposure have become more prevalent recently, we realized that protection goes beyond the truck – presenting a need to work closely with customers, and their specific departments, to offer various options that reduce exposure,” said John Schultz, director of pumper and custom chassis products, Pierce Manufacturing. “The CARE initiative, and our collaboration with the Firefighter Cancer Support Network, has created a progressive platform for our dealers and customers to obtain access to educational information, clean-cab feature options and a community where new ideas can be shared.”

In addition to education and clean cab options, Pierce is advocating for the implementation of gross decontamination by supplying buckets loaded with decontamination procedures and best practices provided by the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Florida Firefighter Safety and Health Collaborative, and the Firefighter Cancer Support Network. These buckets will be loaded onto 1,500 apparatus beginning this summer.

Pierce remains committed to aligning with organizations and dealers that provide extensive occupational awareness and prevention training programs for those in fire service. For a comprehensive review of CARE-focused vehicle design options and descriptions, visit www.piercemfg.com for highlights and educational materials.   

The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official on-duty death of First Captain Michael Godzak, 60, of the Rostraver Township Volunteer Fire Department on April 29, 2018.

While operating a fire engine as it returned to the station from a fire call, First Captain Michael Godzak died from a nature and cause of fatal injury still to be reported. 

Tribute is being paid to First Captain Godzak at http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/

To date, 34 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2018.  Year-to-date and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/ff_fatality_reports.html

Fatality status is provisional and may change as USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify fatality incident information.

By Paul Shapiro

When we respond to a fire, we are expected to be able to extinguish it in a quick and efficient manner.

1 This 1985 American La France with a 1,250-gpm pump is capable of 3,000 gpm through its four-inch Stang gun. (Photos courtesy of author.)

For the most part, I think the fire service has this down. Of course, nothing is perfect. Every once in a while, we experience unexpected problems that challenge us. One such challenge is a large-water-demanding fire that requires us to not only get enough water from water supplies to overwhelm the British thermal units (Btus) but also deliver or discharge the water onto the fire to get the knockdown as quickly as possible. This is where a lot of fires go bad.

We have all seen the big “super pumpers” that are used in refineries across the nation and all over the globe. These pumpers are designed to flow thousands of gallons per minute (gpm) to protect property (the oil) worth billions of dollars. These facilities are set up with water delivery systems that can support the flows that super pumpers are capable of. We are generally talking about flows in excess of 5,000 gpm. In fact, one available unit can flow 10,000 gpm when using a pressurized water delivery system.

2 The stack tips on this four-inch gun start at 13⁄8 inches and go up to 2¾ inches.

3 Note the gated Siamese valve on the discharge side of the evolution in the background and the short section of LDH. This creates too much turbulence that causes pressure loss. The Siamese valve connected directly to the inlet of the gun works better.

There are also units with pumps rated at up to 3,000 gpm that can produce flows reaching close to the 5,000-gpm mark when used in the appropriate pressurized water delivery evolutions. Remember that pumps are rated at draft at 150 pounds per square inch (psi) net pressure. When a pressurized incoming water supply is used, it subtracts its incoming pressure from the overall pressure, thus allowing the pump to produce higher than rated flows. F

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