A truck that belonged to City of Palm Coast (FL) was on the verge of being scrapped for about $1,500 until the former chief of the city's fire department, Howard Peiffer, found a better destination for the truck than a scrapyard.

Palm Coast leaders agreed to donate the fire engine. Peiffer used his own money to transport it nearly 700 miles to Lower Clover Fork Fire Department in Verda, Ky.

"Because people need to have something to protect their community and it's the right thing to do," Peiffer said. "It's humanitarian. It's the right thing to do."

Peiffer is president of the Florida Antique Bucket Brigade, a chapter of Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of Antique Motor Fire Apparatus in America (SPAAMFAA).

The addition to Lower Clover Fork's fleet means the station now has a fully-functioning fire engine.

Recent budget cutbacks have prevented the department's firefighters from repairing older trucks.

"It doesn't matter where you go in the United States, firefighters are a brotherhood," said Jonathan Jones, the fire chief of Lower Clover Fork Fire Dept. "No matter where you go, everybody knows the situation and how hard it would be in our situation. So everybody is willing to help the best they can. We're a tight brotherhood in the fire service."

Members of nearby fire departments helped firefighters at Lower Clover Fork christen the new truck Wednesday, including the placement of a Bible in the cab and "wetting down" the engine as a sort of initiation.

"It's going to help Harlan County tremendously," Harlan County Emergency Management Director David McGill said. "The fire departments had a rough way to go the last little bit and this is going to help them tremendously with their community."

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Two years ago, retired deputy commissioner Craig Dougherty, Detroit (MI) Fire Departent (DFD), presented at the FDSOA’s Apparatus Specification and Maintenance Symposium, after news had leaked that the DFD’s apparatus fleet was in dire need of repair. At the time, none of the aerials had had annual inspections and only one was deemed suitable for manned master stream operations. Dougherty, then chief, hit the topic head on and discussed it and what the department was working on to fix the problem.

Two years later, Dougherty was back at the event. Now retired, Dougherty spoke with pride about what he had been able to accomplish fleet-wide. In the interim, Detroit filed for bankruptcy, and there were a number of challenges before Dougherty including department traditions, which sometimes can be harder to navigate than the political waters.

After navigating through the political and bankruptcy waters, the department secured a loan that totaled $24.5 million. With it, the DFD was able to add/replace 15 ambulances; replace 10 engines; and purchase 10 rapid-response vehicles, 21 SUVs, and 16 fire marshal vehicles. Additionally during Dougherty’s tenure, the department acquired new SCBA for the department, which introduced 45-minute cylinders into DFD’s PPE ensemble. A huge shift in the DFD was having firefighters trained to be EMTs.

Today, after having to brown out or close multiple companies, the department has opened seven companies. All aerial ladders are NDT-inspected, and all have had their yearly inspections. Twelve aerial ladders are fully inspected and certified. The DFD has taken delivery of 10 new pumpers and has six on order. At the time of Dougherty’s first presentation, the DFD had three aerial platforms all out of service, but today all three are in service and certified.

As the session wrapped up, Dougherty took questions, some of which included the plans for aerial replacement and how the department improved the fleet maintenance program to help avoid previous mistakes. As far as the aerials, the plan before Dougherty’s retirement was to replace them at a rate of two per year. In terms of maintenance, much of it is outsourced, and that was a big part of the ten-pumper order. The DFD, according to Dougherty, wanted to go with an apparatus manufacturer that had a maintenance facility nearby and would service the rigs. 

Dougherty also mentioned that the original plan was to also replace pumpers at a rate of four per year. However, since his retirement, leadership of Detroit has changed. Because of the change, he was not sure if those two replacement programs were still going to move forward. It is a reality of leadership change anywhere and is not specific to Detroit. Dougherty is hopeful that what started under his leadership will continue.

A Prince George's County (MD) ambulance was involved in a crash on the Beltway Monday night, according to news reports.

FOX 5 D.C. reported that the ambulance was traveling southbound on Interstate 95 when it was sideswiped by a vehicle in Oxon Hill.

Two paramedics were transported to the hospital with serious but nonlife-threatening injuries. The driver of the vehicle was not injured, according to the report.

Prince George's County Fire and EMS spokesperson Mark Brady said the ambulance also struck a light pole on the side of the road during the crash.

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1445 Designs Inc. maker of the Blackjack “Family” of Helmet Flashlight Holders announces that Pelican Products Inc., will be adding several Blackjack models including the Ace, Full House, All In, and the crossover product Double Down to Pelican’s stunning lineup of lights. The original Blackjack BJ001 was introduced in 2005, and the current product lineup including the Ace, Full House, and All In continue in the revolutionary design of the first Blackjack and remain the first and only patented, under-the-brim flashlight mounts that have always been: Designed by Firemen, for Firemen. The Double Down is an innovative product designed to hold headlamp straps, and other accessory straps such as goggles in place on any hard hat, or wildland firefighting helmets.

Chris McCorkle, inventor of the Blackjack and veteran Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department firefighter says, “The Blackjack was designed out of my frustration with available helmet mounts on the market. In the last 10 years, we have been able to reshape the market for helmet lights in a better, safer direction due to pioneering design and real-world application. The first Blackjack I made was designed around the Pelican Stealthlite as that was what the PFD issued to us at that time. I think it is great to see us come full circle with Pelican. I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish thus far, and I know that this partnership with Pelican Products Inc. will benefit not only my fellow firefighters, but with our new “Industrial” crossover products like the Double Down, this partnership is going to be a game changer for anyone who wears a helmet, or a hard hat, and works in the dark, or low light environments on a worldwide scale.”

For more information about the Blackjack or 1445 Designs LLC please, visit www.blackjackholder.com

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