As the world continues to advance and grow, the risk of major fires and emergency events has also continued to increase. With the elevated risk of potential catastrophic disasters, it is no longer sufficient for fire departments to respond in old traditional ways using dated tactics and standard firefighting equipment. US Fire Pump President/Owner, Chris Ferrara, has experienced this first hand and is now leading a new movement to change the way fire departments are able to respond. 

While working as a pipe fitter in the petrochemical industry, Chris Ferrara was also a volunteer fireman for a rural town in Louisiana. The Central VFD was in desperate need of water tender, but there was no room in the budget for one. Using his pipe fitting background, Chris built his first fire truck that proudly served Central and hasn’t looked back since. He soon established Ferrara Fire Apparatus and continued building fire trucks that have been in service all across the world for the last 30 years.

Firefighting is Chris Ferrara’s biggest passion, where he has performed in many emergencies throughout his career. Chris helped man the line that shut down the last open valve in the Exxon refinery explosion that rocked Baton Rouge in December of 1989. More recently, he managed to extinguish a 50 acre, 118 foot tall landfill that had been burning for over ten years. Where many others had tried and failed to put out this fire, Chris had it extinguished in just three months. 

Chris Ferrara founded US Fire Pump in 2014 to explore new possibilities in firefighting and emergency response equipment that will protect the lives of the public and firefighters while minimizing property loss. By leveraging his experience and vision with dependable materials and technology, Chris has developed a new line of firefighting equipment that have exceeded standard performance ratings by far. Using the High Velocity Pump to attain the Guinness World Record for highest pumping capacity fire truck is just the beginning. Chris Ferrara and US Fire Pump will continue to change the firefighting industry forever.

Latest Starter Motor Offering Includes Robust 12V & 24V Medium, Heavy Duty and Extreme Use Models 

Novi, Michigan, April 27, 2017…New Leece-Neville® PowerPro™ and PowerPro Extreme™ series high-torque starters for medium, heavy duty and extreme use applications are available now and represent the latest in rotating electrical products from Prestolite Electric. 

PowerPro and PowerPro Extreme 12V and 24V starters – engineered to provide starting power for 12L to 40L engines – include a host of features to help reduce operating and maintenance costs and increase vehicle uptime, including high-torque, high-power designs, planetary gear reduction, rotatable flanges, soft start relays and more. 

“The robust new line of PowerPro and PowerPro Extreme starters certainly illustrate our commitment to our customers to deliver best-in-class starting technologies for applications ranging from medium to extreme use,” said Jonathan Smith, assistant director, aftermarket sales and marketing, Prestolite Electric. “Utilizing global technologies developed by Prestolite, PowerPro and PowerPro Extreme products can help to significantly reduce overall operating costs and maintenance-related downtime.” 

Manufactured to deliver industry-leading starting performance, the new PowerPro and PowerPro Extreme product line features four models – PowerPro 5, PowerPro 7, PowerPro 7.5 and PowerPro Extreme 10 – that offer coverage of heavy duty engines from the world’s top manufacturers.

PowerPro™ 5 for medium and heavy duty diesel engines up to 11L

• 12V 5kW starting power

• Coverage includes Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, International, John Deere, Mack and Perkins

• Weighs less than 29 pounds (13.2 kilos)

• Integral Magnetic Switch (IMS)/Soft Start Relay technology to eliminate ring gear damage

• Rotatable flange and mag switch

• Sealed noseless design

PowerPro™ 7 for heavy duty diesel engines up to 16L – IDEAL FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLES & FIRE TRUCK APPLICATIONS

• 12V 7kW starting power

• Coverage includes Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, Mack, Mercedes-Benz, PACCAR and Volvo

• Weighs less than 30 pounds (13.6 kilos)

• Integral Magnetic Switch (IMS)/Soft Start Relay technology

• Improved commutator with larger copper cross section

• Heavy duty, solid copper brush plate to help improve performance through better conductivity

• Planetary gear reduction technology

• eCoated for corrosion resistance

• Rotatable flange and mag switch

PowerPro™ 7.5 for medium and heavy duty diesel engines up to 14L

• 24V 7.5kW starting power

• Weighs less than 29 pounds (13.2 kilos)

• Integral Magnetic Switch (IMS)/Soft Start Relay technology

• Rotatable flange designs available

• Sealed noseless design

PowerPro Extreme™ 10 for extreme-use heavy equipment 

• 24V 10.5kW starting power

• Coverage includes Case, Caterpillar, Cummins, Hitachi, John Deere, Komatsu and MTU

• Weighs only 36 pounds (16.5 kilos)

• -40° C to 125° C ambient operating range

• Wet and dry clutch applications

• Rotatable flange with radial bell housing seal

• High-torque, planetary gear reduction

To learn more about these and other Leece-Neville products, please contact your Leece-Neville Heavy Duty Systems representative, email marketing@prestolite-marketing.com and visit www.prestolite.com. For technical support, call 866-288-9853.

*Certain models

About Prestolite Electric, Inc. 

The Prestolite and Leece-Neville product line includes high-output alternators and gear reduction starter motors for on- and off-highway trucks, military applications, mining vehicles, school and city buses, motor coaches

Indianapolis (IN) — At the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) International 2017, W. L. Gore & Associates announced the latest development in hood technology with the GORE^® Particulate Hood. Manufactured and distributed by Majestic Fire Apparel, the unique design of this hood combines comfort, durability, and certified protection at an affordable price.

Protection: The GORE^® Particulate Hood provides excellent particulate-blocking throughout the entire hood — not just in selected areas. Its innovative design integrates a barrier that blocks more than 99.9 percent of particles between 0.1 and 1.0 microns in size. In addition, this hood exceeds current NFPA 1971 requirements for thermal protection.

Comfort: The patent-pending design of the GORE^® Particulate Hood delivers a more comfortable, natural feel like you are accustomed to when wearing a traditional hood.

Durability: This exceptionally durable hood retains its level of particulate-blocking performance[1] for at least 100 wash cycles and exceeds the strength requirements set forth in NFPA 1971: Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting. The hood also enables visual inspection of the protective barrier.

According to Holly Blake, North American product manager in Gore’s Fabrics Division, the industry continues to learn more about exposure to fire ground contaminants, and the significance of head-to-toe protection increases. “Hoods can be a point of vulnerability when it comes to particulate protection,” she said. “We drew on our extensive experience in barrier technology to develop a durable particulate hood. Our feedback from firefighters indicated that it was very important to maintain the natural feel of a traditional hood. We knew that Majestic Fire Apparel was one of the industry’s leading hood manufacturers, so we approached them with our design and worked with them to develop the final product.”

Janeane Matula, Vice President of Majestic Fire Apparel, further stated, “When Gore showed us their new hood technology and design, we knew it would make a big difference for firefighters. We were happy to provide our expertise in product development, manufacturing, and distribution to deliver a solution that would meet all of the needs of today’s firefighter — reliability, protection, comfort, and affordability.”

Available in two knit options — Ultra C6 (black) and Nomex^® blend (white), the GORE^® Particulate Hood is being sold through Majestic Fire Apparel’s dealers. Visit majhoods.com/Gore or GoreParticulateHoods.com for more information about this exciting new product.

Download this press release as a PDF HERE (2.8 MB)

About Majestic Fire Apparel

Majestic Fire Apparel, Inc. is a premier manufacturer of fire retardant hoods, accessories, and ARC-rated apparel. With facilities located in Lehighton, Pennsylvania, Majestic is an ISO 9001 registered company that maintains a compliant Quality Management System. MFA is committed to the pursuit of better products that achieve optimal benefits for the fire service. The company’s focus on quality and new product development has attributed to its success in serving customers in the fire and safety industry for almost 20 years. www.majhoods.com.  

About Gore

W. L. Gore & Associates is a global materials science company dedicated to transforming industries and improving lives. Founded in 1958, Gore