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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: Apr 12, 2016

Fire Truck Photo of the Day-Rosenbauer Pumper

Rosenbauer—Merced County Fire Department, Atwater, CA, pumper. Commander R6008 cab and chassis; Cummins ISL9 450-hp engine; Rosenbauer N1500, 1,500-gpm pump; UPF Poly 750-gallon tank; 20-gallon foam cell; FoamPro 1600 Class A foam system; GreenStar APU 7.9-kW generator. Dealer: Ken Howenstine, Burton’s Fire Inc., Modesto, CA.

MORE APPARATUS PHOTOS >>

To submit your own photo, go to our Photo Submission Form.

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Grant Could Help G.I.F.D. Prevent Fire Truck, Ambulance Crashes

Posted: Apr 12, 2016

Grant Could Help G.I.F.D. Prevent Fire Truck, Ambulance Crashes

Deadlier than flames - statistics from the National Fire Protection Association show your vehicle is more likely to kill a firefighter than a burning home. Vehicle crashes are the second leading cause of death among on-duty firefighters, but a local department is trying to make the race to a call a bit safer.

"We've had people run the red lights and almost hit us. We've had a lot of close calls," said Grand Island Fire Chief Corey Schmidt.

G.I.F.D.’s worst hit? Schmidt said it was when a truck broadsided an ambulance back in 2008, injuring the crew inside and costing the city big bucks.

"We've had quite a few just minor accidents. We're very fortunate that way, but it only takes one to be the one that you can never quite get over so we're hoping that with this we never have that one accident that hurt or killed someone," said Schmidt.

He’s talking about the preemptive traffic signal controllers installed in three fire vehicles.

"[They] make them green for our vehicles and red for the cross traffic and it really makes our job a little bit safer," said Schmidt.

Monday, the department announced that they had received a $9,471 grant from the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation. Schmidt said they’ll use it to buy three more signal controllers, which run around $3,100 a piece.

"It actually reads our vehicle speed, direction we're traveling currently location," he said.

Even though some fire vehicles have this equipment, there's not a traffic signal in the city that can communicate with them. The intersection of Broadwell and Capital Avenues has the technology. It just needs to be programmed.

The Fire and Street Departments have compiled a wish list, with four intersections set to be upgraded by the end of this year:

Broadwell & Capital Avenues
Webb Road & Capital Avenue
Stolley Park Road & Highway 281
Old Potash Highway & Highway 281

"We don't do a lot of them so it's a little uncertain. They have to go in and install the hardware up above so that it can pick up their GPS," said G.I. Street Superintendent Shannon Callahan. Read more

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Kuntz Keeps the Fire Trucks Rolling

Posted: Apr 12, 2016

Kuntz Keeps the Fire Trucks Rolling

The next time you come across a house fire and see the fire engines respond, or witness the scene of a traffic accident and watch as injured are loaded into

EEP Inc., for Emergency Equipment Professionals, has become a regional leader for providing vehicles and equipment needed by fire departments and emergency personnel to help save lives.

Jeff Kuntz is president and owner of the company, which along with its Horn Lake headquarters has locations in Richland, Miss. and Pelham, Ala.

“We pride ourselves on what we do and how we do it,” Kuntz said. “Most of us have been involved or are still involved as first responders.”

Case in point, Kuntz pointed out that his Vice President of Equipment Sales, Shawn Witt, is the fire chief of the Love Volunteer Fire Department.

Through its suppliers, such as Pierce for fire trucks or Braun or Demers Ambulances, EEP provides quality equipment to fire departments. If and when service is needed, mobile units can come out and work on the vehicles at their location or the vehicles can come into the service area in Horn Lake to be worked on.

Kuntz is not a rookie to the fire equipment business.

“I’ve been in sales of fire equipment and fire apparatus since 1992,” Kuntz said. “I opened with a partner another company in 2000 in Olive Branch. Business grew to the point where we decided we wanted to do our separate things.”

Kuntz said a division of that company led to his starting EEP, Inc. in May 2011.

Each customer gets the same quality level of service, regardless of size.

A New Fire Station And Ladder Truck For Nixa

Nixa has a new fire station on the city's north side. Nixa Fire District Station 5 is at at Guin Road and North Nicholas Road. Assistant Fire Chief Whitney Weaver says with the opening of this new station, it will increase safety. "There will be shorter response times."

"There will be shorter response times." says Weaver, "Full-time firefighters will reduce the response times for fire and medical first response up there."

Weaver says it also means the burden will be eased on firefighters at other stations and improve response times in the central part of the city.

This came about because voters approved a bond issue for over $2-million in 2014 which pays for the new fire station and a new ladder truck.

Weaver says the truck is being built specifically for the Nixa Fire District because they have a lot of homes that are over two stories tall.

"Just a vehicle ladder was not going to provide that rescue capability for us," says Weaver. "In that case we have to make a rescue out of one of those third or fourth story windows, we're going to have the possibility to do it."

The new ladder truck should be ready in October.