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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: Nov 28, 2016

It Sure Looks Like a Tanker

By Ricky Riley

I’ll be the first to admit that rural water supply and tankers are not my top skillset. But in the past year or so, I’ve seen a number of departments that have to use this operation, and they do a fantastic job operationally for their communities and on the firegrounds. So when I initially saw this unit, I almost passed it by because it was really big, carried a lot of water and, finally, it looked like a tanker.

Well I was way off on this department’s thought process and design for what I coined the other day as an “enhanced urban engine.” The unit was purchased and operates with the Prince George’s County (MD) Fire/EMS Department in Maryland. The area it serves and responds to on the initial alarm has a number of rural areas. These rural areas require carrying a lot of water, and the department uses additional tankers to maintain a constant water supply. Its response area also has populated suburban areas with plenty of hydrants and no water supply concerns.

The department took a unique approach to the design of this apparatus and did not follow the standard designs for a unit that most of us would call a pumper-tanker. It identified its response area and operational needs and designed the rig around those needs. The apparatus carries 1,500 gallons of water that provide the much needed water capacity for their rural areas. This capacity obviously will make the unit long and tall in order to accommodate this amount of water. The department did not want to sacrifice the functionality of an engine company when responding to the townhouse and housing developments that are well covered by hydrants. So, it worked with the manufacturer and kept the water capacity but incorporated a low hosebed that carries a full complement of supply line and attack lines that mirror the regular urban engines in its fleet.

The unit is not identified as a tanker because some of the requirements defined by the NFPA, but it sure fits the bill in water capacity and its ability to deliver water with its 1,500-gpm pump. The unit also has a direct tank fill. The rig carries the standard complement of tools, equipment, and ground ladders as a regular engine company. Additionally, the ground ladders are even low on the side of the rig for easy access.

When looking at the rig up close the other day, aside from the water capacity, it has the functionality of an urban engine with a low hosebed and sufficient number of attack lines with varying lengths. So on your next purchase of a unit that needs to carry a lot of water, take the time to design it so it meets all your operational needs—not just the water-carrying requirement. Work with your manufacturer and don’t settle for the standard. Instead, opt for an operational rig your firefighters can easily work off of and deliver the best service to your citizens.

RICKY RILEY is the fire apparatus manager for the Prince George’s County (MD) Fire/EMS Department. He previously served as the Operations Chief in Clearwater, Florida, and as a firefighter for Fairfax County (VA) Fire & Rescue. He also currently serves as the rescue-engine captain at the Kentland (MD) Volunteer Fire Department. He is a memb

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Volunteers Repair Garage Bay Floor at Williamsburg Fire Station

Posted: Nov 28, 2016

Volunteers Repair Garage Bay Floor at Williamsburg Fire Station

Before a recent volunteer effort to repair a severely cracked and crumbling garage bay floor at the North Main Street Fire Station in Williamsburg, Fire Chief Jason Connell said that parking an engine in the bay was a precarious endeavor. "Backing the...

“Backing the truck in, you could get quite a tilt,” Connell said.

That tilt was caused by a failing cement floor that had cracked and sunk up to 7 inches in certain areas.

Now the bay that houses the town’s $465,000 Engine II fire truck purchased in 2015 sports a smooth new reinforced cement floor, thanks to the volunteer efforts of several members of the Williamsburg Firefighters Association.

“I’m very happy with the way it came out. Everybody did a great job,” Connell said.

Volunteers dug into the project in early November, cutting and ripping up sections of concrete, preparing the area and pouring and leveling the new floor.

Building supervisor Jim Locke, who was on site during the project, said that less than $1,000 from the town’s building repair account was spent on materials.

“I can’t imagine what that would have cost the town, if these people hadn’t volunteered their time and labor,” Select Board member Denise Banister said.

According to Connell, the garage bay was added to the original building in 1960 when fire engines were much smaller and lighter. As it is, Engine II can just squeeze into the bay with less than a 2-inch clearance at the top, and no room to spare from front to back.

With the weight of the trucks having doubled in the last 20 years alone, the floor, which has also been compromised by poor drainage, could not withstand the load of modern equipment.

“Over time I would say that the floor has sunk about 7 inches,” Connell said. “Just since I took over as chief over the last four years the floor has gone down significantly.”

With talk of a public safety building being considered for the town at some point, Connell said that he did not want to invest a lot of money in the old station.

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New Augusta (ME) Fire Station Slightly Behind Schedule

Posted: Nov 28, 2016

New Augusta (ME) Fire Station Slightly Behind Schedule

AUGUSTA - The completion of the city's first new fire station in more than 50 years is a couple of weeks behind schedule, but Augusta Fire Chief Roger Audette said that the important thing is that the work is being done right.

“I keep telling people that it’s been almost 60 years since we’ve built a station, so another month wasn’t going to hurt us,” Audette said last week during a tour of the new facility on Leighton Road. “We’re still a couple of weeks behind, so it’s looking like mid-February before it’s done.”

It’s been 51 years since the city’s newest fire station was built on Hospital Street, and Audette said because of the growth in the area and the increase in fire department calls to north Augusta, this station is overdue.

A study by the Matrix Consulting Group in 2008 recommended the department build a new station in the area of Civic Center Drive near Interstate 95. The area is home to the Marketplace at Augusta, a hospital and an under-construction National Guard headquarters, along with several businesses, organizations and public agencies.

The building should last for between 70 and 90 years, Audette said, and it was designed to be expanded if there was a need because of the continued growth in north Augusta.

“It’s highly likely they’ll want to do that down the road,” the chief said. “Look how much has changed in the last 15 or 20 years.”

The majority of the exterior work on the structure, which will have space for the city’s new ladder truck, ambulances, a fire engine and a support vehicle, is complete, and Audette said the inside of the building is starting to take shape.

The new substation will have living quarters including several bedrooms, separate bathrooms for men and women, an exercise area, a kitchen and will provide much-needed space, which is something lacking at the city’s other stations.

Fire Station Preserves a Century of Tradition

DALLAS -- Fire Station 11 on Cedar Springs is steeped in history. Firefighter and paramedic Josh Mihalyi is proof of that. His great uncle was a firefighter in this same station during the 1940s. "This whole wall is filled with pictures of the station over the years.

"This whole wall is filled with pictures of the station over the years. It's over 100 years old," Mihalyi said.

Since then the technology has evolved, thankfully, but the building remains the same. It's one of the few stations left in the city with a fireman's pole.

This Thanksgiving, between alarms, crews enjoyed one of the best tasting traditions.

"We take great pride that we make everything from scratch, so we bring in turkeys down; we take the carcass, we start making the stock the day before," said Patrick McElroy, the executive chef of the Warwick Hotel.

For more than a decade, staff at the four-star restaurant have prepared a special Thanksgiving feast for the fire crews at Station 11.

"We need to give thanks to the people that have voluntarily stepped away from their families to take care of us, and I think we really need to recognize that," McElroy said.