APPLETON, WI—Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation company, has announced an order for six Pierce® Dash® CF custom fire and emergency vehicles from the Central County Fire & Rescue Fire Protection District (CCFR) in Saint Peters, Missouri. The order represents a full fleet replacement of Pierce vehicles that have served the department since 2002. The fire truck purchase includes five pumpers and one aerial platform, and all will be delivered in late 2016.

“We’re very excited that CCFR has once again selected Pierce, and has chosen the innovative Pierce Dash CF custom chassis for this complete fleet replacement order,” says Jim Johnson, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president of the Fire & Emergency segment and Pierce Manufacturing.  “CCFR’s decision to stay with Pierce and go with the Dash CF apparatus speaks volumes about our products, our people and the team at Schuhmacher Fire Equipment.”

“Each of our fire stations will receive a new Pierce Dash CF apparatus, and these new vehicles will improve our performance and emergency response capabilities, while enhancing firefighter safety,” says Brian Ochs, CCFR assistant fire chief and member of a nine-person apparatus committee. “We really like the Dash CF’s open cab configuration—that’s the big thing that interested our committee. You have an open area for the engineer, the captain, and far more room for firefighters. It’s an incredible cab.”

The Pierce Dash CF fire apparatus features a tilting cab-forward design that repositions the engine rearward and down low between the frame rails, with an open interior configuration that helps firefighters better prepare when arriving on scene. The vehicle increases driver and officer interior cab space, improves visibility and serviceability, and features a compact easy-to-maneuver wheelbase.

Each of the five identical pumpers will feature a Detroit DD13 470-hp engine, TAK-4® independent front suspension, side roll and frontal impact protection systems, and the all-new Command Zone™ multiplex system. The vehicles also will include 1,500-gpm Pierce PUC pumps, 600-gallon water tanks, Husky™ 12 dual-agent foam systems, and low-mounted crosslays. 

“The Dash CF is a compact truck with a shorter, more maneuverable wheelbase, and yet can carry as much or even more equipment than our previous apparatus,” adds Chief Ochs. “Plus, the ergonomics are excellent, with everything lower to the ground so firefighters don’t have to climb up onto a truck to reach equipment or hose.”

The Dash CF 100-foot aerial platform will be equipped with a DD13 525-hp engine, TAK-4 independent front suspension, and side roll and fron

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Fulshear (TX) Fire Department, 100-foot rear-mount aerial quint. Gladiator cab and chassis; Cummins ISX550-hp engine; Waterous CSU 2,000-gpm pump.

Glen Ellyn officials are planning what they say is a long-overdue study of their two fire stations.

"It's time to start having these dialogues because I constantly hear it was ignored for 20 years," Village President Alex Demos said. " ... And now we're sitting on two aged buildings that maybe haven't had the maintenance that they need."

Roughly 60 volunteer firefighters, who are each paid $1 a year, work out of two stations owned by the village. While that model has yielded major savings, officials say, revenue from a fire service fee and special taxing area isn't enough to pay for long-term fixes to the buildings, last renovated in the 1990s.

The 1950s-era Station No. 1 downtown apparently would be a "tear down" and replaced because of space and height constraints, Demos said.

"We've got a real need to address fire station one probably within the next 10 years," Village Manager Mark Franz told the board.

But fire board officers stress their immediate priority is replacing aging apparatus such as a 27-year-old ladder truck (a new one is due to be bought later this year).

"We're not saying we wouldn't like another station, a new modified station," Chief Jim Bodony said. "We just want to make sure that the focus is on this (vehicle) fleet, which is something we use every day and we've adapted to these stations."

The fleet, valued at more than $4 million, was purchased by donations over the years, Bodony said. But those donors started to dry up, with only 20 percent of residents and businesses voluntarily contributing before the village decided to charge a fire service fee that now raises about $790,000 annually.

Adopted in December 2013, the fee was intended to help pay for operations and some equipment, officials say. The village could double the rate -- generating an estimated $1.6 million annually -- to help fund station improvements. A homeowner would then pay $15 a month. Businesses, depending on square footage, would pay $16-$80 a month.

This year, the special taxing area also is expected to generate $150,000 for the fire company.

On the south side of town, meanwhile, the 1970s-era Station No. 2 needs more storage and parking, Franz said. The Taft Avenue station also could house administrative offices that Bodony said currently occupy a "very small" portion of the downtown station.

For more information, view www.dailyherald.com