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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: Oct 7, 2016

Technology Evaluation

Richard Marinucci   Richard Marinucci

To some of us in the fire service, the speed at which technological advances are introduced can create great challenges.

Organizations are expected to “be up” on their profession and know of new products that will make them more efficient and effective and are often “evaluated” by the public as to their use of technology. For example, I remember a citizen once complaining about a response time, saying that a local pizza delivery system could locate his house faster than we could with our technology! My only answer was that the pizzeria had more money to invest in such a system than I did with his precious tax dollars. Regardless, while technology offers great promise, many considerations affect implementation in fire departments.

One way to look at technology is to consider modern cell phones. Everybody has one (except my brother, who may be the last holdout). They offer so much service that I am not sure anyone can use all the technology that is in the device. For someone like me, I need to make and receive calls, text occasionally, and look at a calendar. Everything else is window dressing that I am not likely to use. In contrast, my wife uses so much more of her phone-and even she is only scratching the surface of its capabilities. Regardless of our usage, we get all the options on the phone even if we don’t need them. The cost is the same for everything even if we don’t care if it is on the device.

Technology for many in the fire service is sort of like this. There are many products with many options that can do more things than most organizations can benefit from. In some cases, the costs are the same for the extras, but in some instances there is an added charge. When looking at products and technology, departments should take a good look at what is being offered, what the cost is, and whether or not the item will really improve the delivery of service and/or save time.

Speaking of saving time, a firefighter in my department a while ago used to tell me he didn’t have time to do much because the “time-saving device” he was using was taking up all his time as he tried to figure out how it worked! This was a facetious way to let me know that not all things work out initially as planned and not all people have the same acumen for using technology. In general, the younger generation, having grown up with technology, seems to adapt quicker and embrace technological advances easier than the older generation. This is not always the case and there are exceptions, but this is probably a good assessment. As such, departments should know their personnel and their willingness and ability to take on the challenges of using new methods and equipment.

Departments need to do their homework when considering the acquisition of new technology. Most sales pitches will claim that the product will solve some problem, will be easy to use, and will save time and money. Often this is the case but not without some investment and commitment. Advances involving technology have certainly made some things easier but only if the end users have the skills and knowledge to take advantage of the product. They need some aptitude but also will require training. When evaluating new products, consider the amount of time that will be needed to train personnel and who will be the trainer-a representative of the product or a member of your organization. Proper training not only gets personnel to use new devices the correct way but also can stimulate them to look at other means of becoming more efficient and effective wi

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Posted: Oct 7, 2016

Technology Evaluation

Richard Marinucci   Richard Marinucci

To some of us in the fire service, the speed at which technological advances are introduced can create great challenges.

Organizations are expected to “be up” on their profession and know of new products that will make them more efficient and effective and are often “evaluated” by the public as to their use of technology. For example, I remember a citizen once complaining about a response time, saying that a local pizza delivery system could locate his house faster than we could with our technology! My only answer was that the pizzeria had more money to invest in such a system than I did with his precious tax dollars. Regardless, while technology offers great promise, many considerations affect implementation in fire departments.

One way to look at technology is to consider modern cell phones. Everybody has one (except my brother, who may be the last holdout). They offer so much service that I am not sure anyone can use all the technology that is in the device. For someone like me, I need to make and receive calls, text occasionally, and look at a calendar. Everything else is window dressing that I am not likely to use. In contrast, my wife uses so much more of her phone-and even she is only scratching the surface of its capabilities. Regardless of our usage, we get all the options on the phone even if we don’t need them. The cost is the same for everything even if we don’t care if it is on the device.

Technology for many in the fire service is sort of like this. There are many products with many options that can do more things than most organizations can benefit from. In some cases, the costs are the same for the extras, but in some instances there is an added charge. When looking at products and technology, departments should take a good look at what is being offered, what the cost is, and whether or not the item will really improve the delivery of service and/or save time.

Speaking of saving time, a firefighter in my department a while ago used to tell me he didn’t have time to do much because the “time-saving device” he was using was taking up all his time as he tried to figure out how it worked! This was a facetious way to let me know that not all things work out initially as planned and not all people have the same acumen for using technology. In general, the younger generation, having grown up with technology, seems to adapt quicker and embrace technological advances easier than the older generation. This is not always the case and there are exceptions, but this is probably a good assessment. As such, departments should know their personnel and their willingness and ability to take on the challenges of using new methods and equipment.

Departments need to do their homework when considering the acquisition of new technology. Most sales pitches will claim that the product will solve some problem, will be easy to use, and will save time and money. Often this is the case but not without some investment and commitment. Advances involving technology have certainly made some things easier but only if the end users have the skills and knowledge to take advantage of the product. They need some aptitude but also will require training. When evaluating new products, consider the amount of time that will be needed to train personnel and who will be the trainer-a representative of the product or a member of your organization. Proper training not only gets personnel to use new devices the correct way but also can stimulate them to look at other means of becoming more efficient and effective wi

Read more
Posted: Oct 7, 2016

Technology Evaluation

Richard Marinucci   Richard Marinucci

To some of us in the fire service, the speed at which technological advances are introduced can create great challenges.

Organizations are expected to “be up” on their profession and know of new products that will make them more efficient and effective and are often “evaluated” by the public as to their use of technology. For example, I remember a citizen once complaining about a response time, saying that a local pizza delivery system could locate his house faster than we could with our technology! My only answer was that the pizzeria had more money to invest in such a system than I did with his precious tax dollars. Regardless, while technology offers great promise, many considerations affect implementation in fire departments.

One way to look at technology is to consider modern cell phones. Everybody has one (except my brother, who may be the last holdout). They offer so much service that I am not sure anyone can use all the technology that is in the device. For someone like me, I need to make and receive calls, text occasionally, and look at a calendar. Everything else is window dressing that I am not likely to use. In contrast, my wife uses so much more of her phone-and even she is only scratching the surface of its capabilities. Regardless of our usage, we get all the options on the phone even if we don’t need them. The cost is the same for everything even if we don’t care if it is on the device.

Technology for many in the fire service is sort of like this. There are many products with many options that can do more things than most organizations can benefit from. In some cases, the costs are the same for the extras, but in some instances there is an added charge. When looking at products and technology, departments should take a good look at what is being offered, what the cost is, and whether or not the item will really improve the delivery of service and/or save time.

Speaking of saving time, a firefighter in my department a while ago used to tell me he didn’t have time to do much because the “time-saving device” he was using was taking up all his time as he tried to figure out how it worked! This was a facetious way to let me know that not all things work out initially as planned and not all people have the same acumen for using technology. In general, the younger generation, having grown up with technology, seems to adapt quicker and embrace technological advances easier than the older generation. This is not always the case and there are exceptions, but this is probably a good assessment. As such, departments should know their personnel and their willingness and ability to take on the challenges of using new methods and equipment.

Departments need to do their homework when considering the acquisition of new technology. Most sales pitches will claim that the product will solve some problem, will be easy to use, and will save time and money. Often this is the case but not without some investment and commitment. Advances involving technology have certainly made some things easier but only if the end users have the skills and knowledge to take advantage of the product. They need some aptitude but also will require training. When evaluating new products, consider the amount of time that will be needed to train personnel and who will be the trainer-a representative of the product or a member of your organization. Proper training not only gets personnel to use new devices the correct way but also can stimulate them to look at other means of becoming more efficient and effective wi

Read more
Posted: Oct 7, 2016

Tragedy to Triumph: the TL-9 Rescue Tool

By Carl J. Haddon

Many of you will remember a tragic rescue attempt caught on tape some years back.

A cyclist had been struck/run over by a car and was trapped underneath the vehicle. The video shows a first responder with a hydraulic rescue spreader that he deploys to vertically lift the car off of the patient. The lift occurs, and as rescuers attempt to remove the victim from under the car, the spreader loses purchase, causing the car to fall and fatally crush the victim.

1 The TL-9 spreader. (Photos by author.)
1 The TL-9 spreader. (Photos by author.)

Without being a Monday morning quarterback or pointing fingers at anyone, let me just say that this was a case of using the wrong tool for the right reason. Hydraulic rescue spreader arms and tips are not wide enough to provide any kind of stability for such an application. I am unaware of any rescue tool manufacturer that endorses such a practice because of the typical configuration and construction of rescue spreader arms and tips and the nature of the way that spreaders open. There is nothing bad about the tools themselves; it is simply a matter of the wrong tool for the job-until now.

Fast forward to today and the introduction of the TL-9 Stabilizer. The TL-9 is a heavy duty universal appliance designed to fit all commercially available rescue spreaders. Made of one-half-inch-thick plate steel, the stabilizer is designed to offer a six-inch by six-inch base with vertical gusseted support towers on which a spreader can be used to effect a more stable vertical lift.

2 Step chocks are positioned on the opposite side from the lift to offer additional lateral stabilization.
2 Step chocks are positioned on the opposite side from the lift to offer additional lateral stabilization.

Additional features of the patented TL-9 Stabilizer include the following:

  • Base plate-six- by six-inch, half-inch-thick plate steel; compression-tested to 60 tons.
  • Stabilizing towers-four inches high and 2½ inches wide, half-inch steel, with 2½-inch steel gusset supports on each tower; tested for lateral strength to 15 tons with 1⁄8-inch deviation.
  • Rolled limiting pin-5⁄8-inch traveling pin, hardened, travels approximately 15⁄8 inches within the towers; designed to limit the spreader from hyperextending (maximum opening of the spreader is limited to 70 percent); a 5⁄8-inch square steel stock stopper at the front of the plate with a lock slot for the lower tip of the spreader adds a heavy duty spreader tip stop to the device.

Recently, during a new vehicle extrication training program in Ticonderoga, New York, I had the opportunity to take the new TL-9 for a test drive. Simply stated, it does exactly what it purports to do. I have to admit that it was weird to intentionally use a spreader in this fashion, as we’ve always been taught not to lift a vehicle with a spreader. It is vitally important to note that the manufacturers of this product insist that proper cribbing techniques be used (lift an inch, crib an inch) while performing this maneuver with the TL-9. The TL-9 is instantly deployable and has a small footprint for stowage on the apparatus.

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Fire Mechanics Section Board

Chair

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Chair

Elliot Courage
North Whatcom Fire & Rescue
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Vice Chair

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Vice Chair

Mike Smith 
Pierce County Fire District #5
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Secretary

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Secretary

Greg Bach
South Snohomish County Fire & Rescue
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Director #1

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #1

Doug Jones
South Kitsap Fire & Rescue
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Director #2

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #2

Paul Spencer 
Fire Fleet Maintenance LLC
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Director #3

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #3

Jim Morris
Mountain View Fire Department
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Director #4

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #4

Arnie Kuchta

Clark County Fire District 6

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Director #6

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #6

Brett Annear
Kitsap County Fire District 18
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Director #5

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #5

Jay Jacks
Camano Island Fire & Rescue
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Legislative Representative

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Legislative Representative

TBD
TBD
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Immediate Past Chair

Posted: Oct 20, 2015

Immediate Past Chair

Brian Fortner
Graham Fire & Rescue

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