Menu

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: Mar 8, 2016

Fire Truck Photo of the Day-David Cook/Kenworth Pumper

The rig was refurbished in 2015 and is built on a 2007 Kenworth cab and chassis.

Read more
Posted: Mar 7, 2016

Fond du Lac Buys 25 Bullet-Proof Vests, Helmets

Firefighters used to bring only firefighting equipment on calls, and paramedics used to bring only medical equipment and supplies. But for many fire departments and emergency medical services, that has changed. Given the rise in America of shooting incidents, firefighters and paramedics are more at risk to gunfire while on scene.
That's why the Fond du Lac Fire Department recently purchased 25 bullet-proof vests and helmets.

Each vest weighs about 25 pounds, said Assistant Chief Todd Janquart. Though the vests hinder mobility, the added safety outweighs the inconvenience of wearing them, he said.

"The vests are worn at the discretion of the firefighter or chief based on the level of danger encountered. The vests will be kept in the trucks and used on an as-needed basis," Janquart said.

The vests consist of a plate of metal in the front and back made to withstand rounds shot from a high-powered rifle. The shoulder and waistline plates are slightly thinner but tough enough to withstand handgun rounds.

In recent years, first responders have encountered their share of violence.

In January, an Arkansas firefighter was shot and killed while responding to a call of a person having a seizure, and in 2012, four Webster, N.Y., firefighters were shot, two of them fatally, after a man set his house on fire and ambushed them as they approached.

Read more
Posted: Mar 7, 2016

Rapid City (SD) Gets New Fire Equipment

New equipment will help make it less treacherous for Rapid City firefighters. The Rapid City Fire Department got 56 new self-contained breathing units last week.

These protect firefighters in life threatening smoky environments. Key new features in the $350,000 upgrade are better design for comfort and an important "buddy breathing" system that quickly allows firefighters to share their air supply if someone's pack gets damaged. The new units also have an important communication feature.


"With our new microphones we can hear each other a lot better in the field we've got an amplifier system built into the air module on the face piece so it just automatically amplifies what you're saying," Says Oliver White of the Rapid City Fire Department.
Read more
Posted: Mar 7, 2016

Weslaco (TX) Fire Chief Upgrades Fleet with New Ambulances

Fire Chief Antonio Lopez anticipates local emergency medical services increasing in efficiency thanks to the purchase of two new ambulances.
The Weslaco Fire Department on Thursday received 2016 Ford F-450 twin units equipped with 174-inch module boxes and mobile intensive care unit capabilities, including an on-board wireless router allowing EMS technicians to send critical information to the hospital where patients will be transported -- all while being treated on scene.


"They will get to the scene, get off the ambulance and actually walk into a residence with a heart monitor, start treatment in the house and transmit a telemetry reading. That's sent to the hospital where they'll be taking the patient," Lopez said Monday, using a hypothetical call as a for instance. 

"Before they would do that in the ambulance, but with this router we'll have a 300 feet bubble that'll allow them to send information from greater distances. That'll shave two or three minutes off the treatment plan."

The $340,000 lease purchase was made through the WFD's Apparatus Replacement Program, which dedicates 25 percent of the city's annual in-house EMS revenue -- about $1.6 million during the last fiscal year -- toward replacing department equipment.

Also purchased through the program was a new $525,000 fire truck, a 2016 Ferrara rescue pumper customized for WFD needs, including a 1,700 gallon-per-minute pump capable of carrying up to 1,000 gallons of water. The department's fire engines, with the exception of one, are currently equipped for 500 gallons, Lopez said.

"This is state of the art," the chief further noted about the new fire truck, which is due to arrive sometime in October.

Through the program, the city is leasing the ambulances for $68,000 a year over five years, and the fire truck at $52,000 for over 10 years.

At $170,000 apiece, Lopez said the new ambulances are among the first purchases made through the program and credited city leaders for their support in launching it.

The department averages about 8,500 calls per year with more than 6,000 coming in as requests for ambulance services. Each firefighter in Weslaco is cross-trained as a paramedic in order to maintain the department's dual function as an in-house EMS operation.

Read more
RSS
First43604361436243634365436743684369Last

Theme picker

Upcoming Events

Theme picker

Sponsors

Fire Mechanics Section Board

Chair

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Chair

Elliot Courage
North Whatcom Fire & Rescue
Read more

Vice Chair

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Vice Chair

Mike Smith 
Pierce County Fire District #5
Read more

Secretary

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Secretary

Greg Bach
South Snohomish County Fire & Rescue
Read more

Director #1

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #1

Doug Jones
South Kitsap Fire & Rescue
Read more

Director #2

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #2

Paul Spencer 
Fire Fleet Maintenance LLC
Read more

Director #3

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #3

Jim Morris
Mountain View Fire Department
Read more

Director #4

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #4

Arnie Kuchta

Clark County Fire District 6

Read more

Director #6

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #6

Brett Annear
Kitsap County Fire District 18
Read more

Director #5

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #5

Jay Jacks
Camano Island Fire & Rescue
Read more

Legislative Representative

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Legislative Representative

TBD
TBD
Read more

Immediate Past Chair

Posted: Oct 20, 2015

Immediate Past Chair

Brian Fortner
Graham Fire & Rescue

Read more
RSS

Theme picker

2020 CAR SHOW