W.S. DARLEY & CO and the NATIONAL VOLUNTEER FIRE COUNCIL (NVFC) have announced a partnership to provide all NVFC members the benefit of a 10 percent discount on orders placed on edarley.com. In addition, Darley has also agreed to donate 10 percent of all proceeds from member sales to the NVFC. Darley supports more than 300 charitable organizations each year and aims to donate at least 10 percent of all profits back to the communities that it serves. Paul Darley, president and CEO, praises the NVFC for its great work and comments, “We’ve been long-time supporters of the NVFC and believe it’s more important than ever to support our volunteer fire departments. They are the backbone of the fire service in the USA. It is our hope that this program will assist them with the budget constraints they’re facing while providing financial assistance to the organization that supports them.” Under the program, Darley will donate $100,000 to the NVFC for every $1 million in equipment purchased by the NVFC’s nearly 20,000 members.

HME has announced that the Bridpot (VT) Fire Department has taken delivery of an all-new HME MiniEvo™, which is integrated onto a 2015 Ford F-550 Super-Duty Crew Cab XL. This MiniEvo combines exclusive HME Ahrens-Fox Hydra Technology™ with a 1,500-gpm Hale DSD midship pump, all mounted within a 24-inch heated pump house. Other features include a Powerstroke 6.7-liter V-8 OHV direct diesel injection 32-valve intercooled turbo diesel engine; six-speed electronic Select-Shift automatic transmission; stainless steel piping, panels, and framework; Fire Research TankVision; dual 1½-inch crosslays; TurboFoam Class A foam system with a 17-gallon foam tank; and a 400-gallon T-tank for water.

BETTER TOOLS, LLC announced that the Oxnard College Fire Academy & Technology in Oxnard, California, has taken delivery of the EZ Spanner™ Ratcheting Fire Hydrant Wrench to incorporate into its fire recruit training curriculum. Faculty/department chair and retired Los Angeles City (CA) Captain Mike Ketaily comments, “I am very happy to incorporate the EZ Spanner Ratcheting Hydrant Wrench into our curriculum. We have identified the benefit that the EZ Spanner brings to the profession of firefighting. We can teach our students to keep their body in a safe position while opening hydrants and reduce the chance of injuries.” Because of the ratcheting mechanism, the EZ Spanner™ enables firefighters to open obstructed fire hydrants faster.

As part of LION’s ongoing commitment to fulfill the personal safety, readiness, and identity needs of first responders, the company recently completed construction of a new training center. Housed in LION’s corporate office, LION University provides advanced education on the complex and technical nature of firefighter personal protective equipment (PPE). Each course, designed to challenge and engage participants, is supported with a comprehensive curriculum with instruction from leading industry professionals. LION University is an innovation in industry training, keeping LION dealer sales representatives current on requirements of first responders and technical advancements across the marketplace. “We are proud to educate dealer sales representatives of LION on the unique differences built into each LION PPE product,” says Mark Smith, senior vice president of LION. “We recognize the complexity and technical nature of PPE sales to first responders. LION is pleased to have this strategic initiative come to life and keep our sales representatives, as well as first responders, ready for action.”

GLOBE, DUPONT PROTECTION TECHNOLOGIES (DUPONT), and

Alan M. Petrillo

Tampa (FL) Fire Rescue has taken delivery of three Braun custom Super Chief Type 1 medium-duty ambulances, one a bariatric unit, and integrated them into its fleet of 14 advanced life support (ALS) ambulances.

Standardizing the Fleet

Frank Pfister, specifications officer for Tampa Fire Rescue, says the first unit was put in service last year, while the second and third (the bariatric unit) went into service in September. Tampa Fire Rescue’s fleet of ambulances shows an assortment of brands accumulated over the years, including Med Tech, Horton, Wheeled Coach, and others. While the department tried to keep continuity among the rigs, with equipment stashed in similar compartments, it was a difficult chore because of manufacturing differences and designs.

“Our neighboring department, Temple Terrace Fire Department, ran Braun ambulances,” Pfister says. “We asked them about the rigs and if they would buy Braun ambulances again. They said they were very happy with Braun and gave their ambulances a big thumbs up. That led us to buy our first Braun ambulance in September 2012.”

Tampa (FL) Fire Rescue purchased three Braun Super Chief Type 1 medium-duty ambulances on Freightliner M2 chassis to replace three older units in its fleet. (Photos courtesy of Tampa Fire Rescue.)

Pfister says that the department’s officers and paramedics like the fit and finish as well as the performance of the Braun ambulance, so they decided to order three ambulances of the same design, with an exception for the one that would serve as a bariatric unit. The resulting rigs are built on Freightliner M2 chassis in the Super Chief design, powered by Cummins ISB 6.7-liter 260-horsepower engines and Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmissions.

Chad Brown, vice president of sales and marketing for Braun Industries, says the Tampa ambulances feature solid body aluminum construction. “We take flat sheets of aluminum, bend them to individual custom shapes, then full seam weld them on the outside of the truck to make a unitized body,” Brown says. “We build our cabinets in the same way-all aluminum and welded in so that the cabinets become part of the structure of the unit. Everything then is sprayed and seal coated.”

One of the Braun-built rigs for Tampa Fire Rescue is a bariatric unit designed to handle heavier than typical patients. The unit has a winch at the head of the cot that’s used to ease a patient-loaded cot into the back of the rig.

Cindy Morgan, vice president of equipment and rescue sales for Ten-8 Fire Equipment, the Braun dealer for Florida and Georgia that sold the rigs to Tampa, says Tampa wanted to match its existing fleet of ambulances in terms of exterior compartment sizes and the interior layouts. “They wanted to be able to have the same equipment in compartments, even though the other ambulances were made by different manufacturers.”

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