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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: Aug 1, 2018

Fire Apparatus Fleet Management Reports

Christian P. Koop

The fleet manager has long been considered a jack-of-all-trades with a tremendous amount of responsibility.

Traditional responsibilities range from keeping the fleet operational to saving money while keeping overtime in check. Duties may include specifying equipment and purchasing equipment, ensuring units are properly documented, and making sure scheduled preventive maintenance is on track. The fleet manager must always monitor productivity, quality control, and profitability in cases where the fleet is commercial. Cost effectiveness, whether the fleet belongs to a fire department or is an over-the-road (OTR) private operation, is the name of the game. Always searching for ways to maximize the operation and shave costs where possible is paramount. The most important tool to get this monumental task accomplished is a database that is global positioning satellite (GPS) linked that can run real-time reports that show how much fuel the fleet is consuming per unit, technician labor, repeat repairs, parts cost on individual fleet vehicles, and warranty tracking.

Traditionally, fleet managers were always working after the fact because once a vehicle left the shop it became invisible. GPS-linked data systems changed that because they offer real-time data for the fleet manager that can increase uptime. GPS-linked data systems offer great returns on investment because they are the best way to gather information quickly to help make decisions that will save time and money and improve efficiencies.

Manage Costly Items

It has long been known that for most fleets the two costliest items are fuel and tires. It is possible that in certain cases other items can cost more to maintain in a fleet operation. The type of equipment and the way it is used, combined with climate and terrain, could very well contribute to this. For example, severe brake wear could cost more than tires in a fleet of emergency response vehicles (ERVs), particularly if they are near gross vehicle weight (GVW) and operating intercity in a hot climate.

Fuel. When it comes to fuel, you should be asking: How much is it costing? How much are we using? Are there like units using more fuel per mile than others? Is there fuel that is unaccounted for? A good GPS-linked data system that is tied to the fueling system can answer these questions and more. The most accurate systems are wireless systems that will read data right from the unit’s onboard computer, such as mileage and engine hours, and will record the date and time the unit was refueled. Systems that rely on drivers to input mileage are prone to have some erroneous data because invariably mistakes will be made during driver input. Good systems will provide automatic reports on units that are using more fuel than like vehicles. This will allow the fleet manager to bring the unit in to correct the issue if it is related to excessive fuel consumption. Sometimes the problem involves theft; a good GPS-linked data system will quickly point this out. I have seen a number of employees get terminated because of fuel theft; if you do not have a good data system, it will be much more difficult to find th

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Posted: Aug 1, 2018

Breathing Air Systems for Emergency Vehicles

BY ALAN M. PETRILLO

Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and the breathing air contained in its cylinders are critical equipment used in fighting fires. And, the quality of the air inside those bottles is equally important.

While many departments have fill stations in their firehouses, others carry mobile systems on rescues, trailers, air/light rigs, or other apparatus to provide quality air at a fire scene. And when on a rescue, breathing air systems often are also found supplying air-powered tools.

BAUER COMPRESSORS INC.

William Dickson, vice president of sales for breathing air products at BAUER Compressors Inc., says BAUER designs its breathing air systems to meet specific customer requirements. “Each department has its own unique needs,” Dickson says. “We have a BAUER staff person or a distributor with a BAUER factory person sit down with the fire department to find out exactly what they want and then design the system to fit their needs.”

This fire vehicle has a complete breathing air system onboard, including a Bauer compressor.

1 This Bauer Compressors Inc. breathing air system includes a cascade system, air management, and fill station. (Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Bauer Compressors Inc.) 2 This fire vehicle has a complete breathing air system onboard, including a Bauer compressor.

He says there are three basic components to a breathing air system: the compression component, the management component that directs air into the storage vessels, and the cascade and fill station system. “The size of all those components, the discharge capacity and pressure of the compressor, the number of storage cylinders, and the size of the fill station are all dictated by the department,” Dickson says.

Dickson notes that, for a mobile application, BAUER personnel determine the discharge capacity needed for the system, the size of the compressor, the size of the onboard generator to power the compressor, and the peak load of the system—that is, the number and size of SCBA cylinders to be filled through the onboard storage system.

If a department puts breathing air on a pumper, it typically is only a cascade system and fill station, Dickson points out, because there often is not room for anymore equipment. However, on rescues and air/light trucks, a generator, compressor, cascade system, and fill station usually are carried. Dickson adds that BAUER offers single-, two-, and three-position fill stations. “Typically, the compressor and storage system are located in an air-cooled transverse compartment over the rear wheels,” Dickson says, “while the fill station often is put in a side or rear compartment.”

Designing Multidiscipline and Job-Specific Rescue Trucks

Designing and writing specifications for heavy-duty rescue squads can be very time consuming and demanding, as these rigs have a number of body requirements and components that require a lot of attention. Ensuring that the apparatus will be able to operate, properly serve the community, and last for a long time are some of the charges made by the bosses to the apparatus committee.

One of the items that will need to be addressed is what type of incidents the rescue truck will respond to and how many functions it will be required to do. Depending on your geographic area in the country and your department’s staffing model, these two are very important questions to be answered before the specification process can proceed.

In a large number of departments, these rescue trucks have to serve more than one purpose, thus forcing the apparatus committee to truly think about how the vehicle is going to be laid out and the amount of equipment that will need to be carried for each function. The two major functions are rescue/auto accidents and fireground support. Many other functions could also be added such as hazmat, technical rescue, water rescue, dive operations, and swift water. It seems today that the list could go on forever, but for this article we will just focus on the big two.

DUAL FUNCTIONS

In the dual-function unit, laying out the equipment is important. In a number of departments I have worked with on equipment layouts, their wishes were usually to have one side for fire and one side of the rig for rescue/auto accidents. While in theory this is a very understandable request, it does have its issues. Some of our vehicle rescue tools and equipment can take up a lot of room, and they can be space hogs when it comes to storing them and making them easy to deploy. So, balancing the weight of this equipment is important to the life expectancy of the unit and how it is going to ride on the road and be evenly distributed for braking on the rig.

The fire side of the equipment is usually not as heavy. It does not require that many special storage concerns. Spreading the equipment out around the rig will assist in the proper weight balancing but, as always, the operational component will need to be looked at as we do not want to have to open three compartments to get the equipment we need to do the fire job.

These combined rescue trucks are the norm for most departments and provide a balanced response to most of their incidents. They also give the community a vehicle that does not just have one purpose, thus saving a little on the number of vehicles that are in a department’s fleet. They also reduce the chance that a department has all single-use apparatus that might require a large commitment of staffing plus the chance of being out on the run rig when the next call comes in.

SINGLE-USE UNITS

The single-use rescue truck that is designed just for vehicle rescue, although not as prevalent as the combined unit, is still a rig that is built for a number of departments across the country. These rigs, depending on their size and complexity, will require a design phase that will have to take into consideration the space needed for anything from a small porta-power to large low-pressure air bags and extensive cribbing storage. Understanding the mounting and placement of the types

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Posted: Aug 1, 2018

Job-Specific or Multi-Discipline Rescue Trucks?

I consider a rescue truck a support vehicle a fire department uses to augment its firefighting resources. Rescue trucks are not formally recognized by National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901, Standard for Automotive Apparatus. The standard identifies and has specific criteria for apparatus it classifies as pumpers, initial attacks, mobile water supply, aerials, quints, mobile foam apparatus, and special service fire apparatus, which is described in Chapter 10. Sentence A.3.3.164 in the appendix notes the services that could be performed by a special service apparatus, including “rescue, command, hazardous material containment, air supply, electrical generation and floodlighting, or transportation of support equipment and personnel.” In this article, a rescue truck is any support vehicle meeting Chapter 10’s requirements.

Chapter 10 provides a list of basic equipment that special service apparatus must carry regardless of the rig’s function or what it is called. The appendix also provides two lists of equipment that “could be considered” for a rig for “hazmat containment” and one for a rig to support “rescue operations.” I believe NFPA 1901 acknowledges that it is a local decision—as it should be—to establish the definition of, mission to accomplish, and equipment to be carried on a rescue truck. And, the fire department can call the rig whatever it chooses. (In many parts of New England and, in particular, Rhode Island, a rescue truck is a fire department operated ambulance.)

Whether a rescue truck is job-specific is also a local decision that should be contingent on the size and makeup of the fire department, available staffing, and the hazards in a response district. I do not address urban search and rescue (USAR) apparatus or regional (i.e., countywide) hazmat vehicles. Many large departments with unique hazards can justify and staff support vehicles on a 24/7 basis. My comments address small and midsize departments operating rescue trucks to complement fire suppression units.

ROCHESTER, NEW YORK

The Rochester (NY) Fire Department is a typical midsize city department with 15 fire stations and career staffing for 13 engine companies, six truck (ladder) companies, and a heavy rescue with minimum staffing of four firefighters per company. It also provides a career driver for a volunteer-staffed salvage truck. Rochester’s hazards are typical of most midsize cities. The number of responses to “unique calls” requiring specialized apparatus doesn’t appear great enough to justify fully staffed job-specific support vehicles.

According to Captain Andy Lonthair (Special Projects), the fire department cross staffs specialized job-specific apparatus with the line companies they are housed with. Internally, they are called “jump” companies. Engine 2 jumps with Water Rescue 1. Engine 3 jumps with Foam 1. Engine 13 and Truck 10 jump with Technical Rescue 1 and Technical Rescue 2. Engine 17 and Rescue 11 jump with Hazmat 1 and Hazmat 2. The support apparatus are job-specific in design and equipment carried. In addition, Engine 19 staffs Gator 1, Truck 3 staffs Gator 2, and Engine 2 staffs Boat 1.

Job-specific apparatus saves overloading Rochester’s heavy rescue, which is primarily used for extrication and