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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

Construction Begins on Augusta (ME) New Fire Station

Posted: May 31, 2016

Construction Begins on Augusta (ME) New Fire Station

Construction work began last week at the site of what will be Augusta's first new fire station since Lyndon B. Johnson was president. An official groundbreaking ceremony for the roughly $4 million station is scheduled for Thursday in north Augusta.

The last time Augusta had a new fire station, the Augusta Fire Department responded to 500 fire calls a year. The department now responds to 1,300 fire calls in addition to 4,500 calls requesting emergency medical service.

Chief Roger Audette says the new station will provide more room for firefighters, trucks, ambulances and other equipment.

Construction is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2017. It will not be finished by the time Augusta’s new multipurpose ladder firetruck is expected to arrive in November.

Janesville (WI) New Fire Station Serves Function Over Frills

Residents can get inside looks at Janesville's new Central Fire Station after a 1 p.m. dedication ceremony Thursday, June 2.

Timing of construction wasn't ideal, given that the city's $7.9 million transit center opened in 2014, and critics labeled it a Taj Mahal.

The city council also deserved criticism when it voted in closed session in November 2013 to acquire a dozen homes to keep the new station on the same Milton Avenue block as the old station, and then kept the decision hidden from affected residents for months. That sparked petitions for direct legislation that the council ignored, triggering a lawsuit that a judge rejected.

Total costs for the new 31,500-square-foot station, including buying properties and relocating residents, was $9 million. Fortunately, instead of demolishing all the homes, two were moved, including a Second Empire-style house built in 1860. The station was finished ahead of schedule, and firefighters moved in during late April.

The building seems cavernous given the handful of firefighters on duty at any time. Yet it was built to accommodate needs for the next 50 years and includes the department's administrative offices. Dorm rooms have three sets of cupboards, bins and lockers because three firefighters sleep in each at differing times. Similarly, the kitchen has three refrigerators. Each shift plans its own meals, and firefighters shop and pay for their own food.

South Shore (KY) Gets New Fire Apparatus

There's a big new shiny fire truck sitting in the fire station of the South Shore Volunteer Fire Department.

"We bought a new 2016 Pierce Custom Pumper and it mainly replaces a truck that was a (19) 94 model," South Shore Fire Chief Kenny Taylor said. "It cost $470,000 and it's got all the safety features on any truck that's available at this day and time."

Taylor said the fire department had been saving their money for several years and had saved over $200,000 for a new truck. Add to what they had saved, $200,000 borrowed from First and People's Bank, and the purchase is made.

"The other truck was a good truck but it was a 94 model, just getting older, just like everything else," Taylor said. "It has to be updated."

"The fire equipment company we bought it off of in McConnellsville, Finley Fire Equipment, came in and showed us how to pump and operate it," Taylor said. "But it's pretty close to the one we got rid of as far as the operation of the truck itself, and then we've been taking drivers training on it the last month or so to let everybody get familiarized with it, where it's a custom cab."

"We had also bought a brand new boat and we bought a new rescue truck in between times," Taylor said. "and we had been saving our money for the last several years, and we're saving money now for another new truck 10 years down the road."

New Pumps, Foam Systems, Controls, Valves, and Nozzles Unveiled

By Alan M. Petrillo

A number of new pumps, foam systems, control units, valves and nozzles were among the products unveiled for firefighters and fire apparatus at FDIC International 2016.

W.S. Darley & Co. introduced three new engine mounted pumps: the 2-1/2AGE 37V-EFI, a medium-pressure, high-volume, gear-driven pump powered by a Briggs & Stratton 37-horsepower (hp) electronic fuel-injected gasoline engine; the 2-1/2AGE 40S, a medium-pressure, high-volume, gear-driven pump powered by a Subaru 40-hp V-twin air-cooled gasoline engine; and the HSE 250K 59HP, a single-stage centrifugal pump powered by a Kubota V2403M 59-hp turbo diesel engine.

Jason Darley, pump division accounts manager, says the company also introduced the Smart Control P, a new 4.3-inch digital control panel for portable and engine driven pumps that Darley says "will make the pumps more functional and high-tech," with start, stop, and throttle controls; digital water discharge pressure read out; engine rpm, temperature and hour meter; primer activation; and inlet and discharge pressure all in a waterproof design with dual control panels for operation in the cab or at the pump panel.

Waterous introduced its new Tellurus Digital Control System that Mark Severin, marketing and communications manager, says allows easy operation of the Waterous ONE STEP™ compressed air foam system (CAFS) with high ambient contrast ratio, enabling a firefighter easier readability in daytime sunlight and gloved operation in water-spray environments. Severin says that Waterous also will now offer its Aquis Foam Proportioner in 3- and 6-gpm models, which will have the additional feature of being able to produce Class B foam.

Hale Products unveiled four new products, including a SmartFOAM System, Shift Interlock Module, KP Pump series, and dual control panels. John Dinning IV calls the Class 1 SmartFOAM system "the first of its kind in the North American fire market" because of its intuitive user interface, advanced safety interlocks, fully configurable presets and data logging. The Shift Interlock Module integrates Class 1 electronics to Hale's G gearbox to increase firefighter safety, Dinning notes, ensuring shifts between road and pump mode can only occur with the apparatus is placed in neutral.

Hale's new KP Pump series of mid and rear-mounted pumps includes a multipressure option, Dinning says, as well as being "the smallest and lightest offering on the market," while Hale's dual control panels for portable pumps allow the engine and throttle to be controlled from the pump or cab.

Task Force Tips introduced a number of new products, including a low-level floating strainer, low-profile ball intake valve, a series of fixed-gallonage Master Foam nozzles, and redesigns of its remote controlled nozzle actuators and monitor electronics enclosure.