By Bill Adams

When purchasing a pump-equipped fire truck, there’s a reasonable expectation that a quality and professional piping installation will be supplied.

What is expected may not be what’s delivered. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, Chapter 16, Fire Pumps and Associated Equipment, only specifies performance and minimum sizes for some of a rig’s piping. The design, degree of engineering, level of workmanship, and materials to be used are left to the apparatus purchasing committee (APC) to specify. To the best of my knowledge, there is not a documented “right way” or “wrong way” to plumb a fire pump. Purchasers commonly rely on apparatus manufacturers (OEMs) to provide piping installation verbiage to incorporate into their purchasing specifications. Be advised that some OEM specifications are more detailed than others. Regardless of the specificity of the verbiage, when a purchaser publishes an OEM’s suggested specification, the purchaser owns it.

1 A unique, one-of-a-kind, and obviously field-engineered tank-to-pump line on a rig. It appears the booster tank was either ordered incorrectly or was one that was in stock. Regardless of the numerous parts and pieces to make the connection, the rig did pass a tank-to-pump flow test. Not pretty-but it works. (Photo courtesy of the author.)

Does Terminology Matter?

In a competitive bidding environment, whatever is written in the purchasing specifications becomes the precedent-the minimum requirements that all bidders must meet. A fire chief stating, “Brand A’s plumbing is third rate; my kid could have done a better job,” or “Brand B’s piping job is unprofessional; it is unacceptable,” may not be legal grounds to disqualify a bid. One way to get the best value for monies expended is to fairly evaluate product and proposals by comparing apples to apples.

Some APC members don’t care about or can’t be bothered with piping particulars, blindly accepting whatever a preferred vendor is selling. They should care because they might have to describe what a particular piping component is and why it was, or was not, specified. Visualize explaining to the mayor-in a public forum-that you don’t know what model 3203 widgets are but you really need them on your new fire truck. Your preferred vendor might not be there to bail you out. Good luck. An alternative is to leave piping particulars out of the specifications and hope for the best. Purchasers should be aware of what could be provided inside their new pump house.

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1 A unique, one-of-a-kind, and obviously field-engineered tank-to-pump line on a rig. It appears the booster tank was either ordered incorrectly or was one that was in stock. Regardless of the numerous parts and pieces to make the connection, the rig did pass a tank-to-pump flow test. Not pretty-but it works. (Photo courtesy of the author.)

Does Terminology Matter?

In a competitive bidding environment, whatever is written in the purchasing specifications becomes the precedent-the minimum requirements that all bidders must meet. A fire chief stating, “Brand A’s plumbing is third rate; my kid could have done a better job,” or “Brand B’s piping job is unprofessional; it is unacceptable,” may not be legal grounds to disqualify a bid. One way to get the best value for monies expended is to fairly evaluate product and proposals by comparing apples to apples.

Some APC members don’t care about or can’t be bothered with piping particulars, blindly accepting whatever a preferred vendor is selling. They should care because they might have to describe what a particular piping component is and why it was, or was not, specified. Visualize explaining to the mayor-in a public forum-that you don’t know what model 3203 widgets are but you really need them on your new fire truck. Your preferred vendor might not be there to bail you out. Good luck. An alternative is to leave piping particulars out of the specifications and hope for the best. Purchasers should be aware of what could be provided inside their new pump house.

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1 VT Hackney Inc. built this heavy rescue truck on a tandem rear axle for the Madison Township (IN) Fire Department. (Photo courtesy of VT Hackney Inc.)

Rescue truck manufacturers are continuing to build traditional rescues for departments that want the kind of carrying power that a dedicated rescue allows, from hauling equipment for vehicle extrications to that required by a number of technical rescue disciplines.

Straight Rescue Market

Ed Smith, director of the emergency vehicles group for VT Hackney Inc., says that Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association data for 2015 show 280 apparatus identified as rescues, and that 2016 figures through the third quarter were within two percentage points of 2015. “So, there’s been no growth in the purchase of traditional rescue trucks,” Smith says but notes that “we are still building a good number of big traditional rescues, usually on bodies of 20 to 24 feet long that some states classify as heavy rescues.”

2 The Berea (OH) Southwest Emergency Response Team went to Hackney for this technical rescue rig. (Photo courtesy of VT Hackney Inc.)

Smith adds that Hackney’s rescue truck percentages were up during the past year, especially for light-duty vehicles with 10- to 12-foot bodies on Ford F-550 or Dodge Ram 5500 chassis and cabs. “Departments are designating them as rescue companies and also using them as squads to run medical calls,” Smith says. “The next step up is a medium rescue that would also carry air bags and cribbing, and then heavy rescues that carry equipment for structural collapse, trench rescues, and other types of technical rescue, including hazardous materials response.”

Hackney has seen most heavy rescues going to cities with populations of 100,000 or more, Smith points out. “We’re also seeing smaller rural and suburban fire departments buying heavy rescues when they have the specific need and the resources to purchase them.”

3 The East Freehold (NJ) Fire Department chose Rescue 1 to build this tandem-rear-axle traditional walk-around heavy rescue truck. (Photo courtesy of Rescue 1.)

Mike Mildner, rescue sales specialist for E-ONE, believes that rescues have evolved into highly specialized vehicles. “While very large departments might have two or three specialized rescue vehicles, some of them put it all together in a heavy squad that handles technical rescue,” Mildner says. “Usually hazardous materials is on a separate vehicle because if a combo unit that has h