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By Mark Miller

Conducting a thorough apparatus needs analysis is the essential first step to ensure the apparatus being purchased will fit the community it will protect. Departments must take several community-specific considerations into account to ensure the apparatus will be operationally effective not only for the short term but for its entire service life. This needs analysis will further serve as the basis to justify the expenditure to a municipality's elected and appointed officials during the procurement process. Although many communities appear to be similar, each has its own specific intricacies that require a detailed analysis prior to beginning the specification process.

What Is It?

An apparatus needs analysis is the process used to identify and evaluate needs that are specific to a community that the apparatus protects. Many departments aren't afforded the opportunity to regularly replace fire apparatus. Therefore, it is essential that departments use a systematic process of identifying a community's specific needs. By conducting an apparatus needs analysis, they can ensure they purchase apparatus based on their community-specific needs and not personal wants. This process has been successfully used on all types of units including advanced life support (ALS) transport vehicles, tenders, pumpers, aerials, and heavy rescues.

Community-specific needs include a community's setting, such as urban, suburban, and rural, or any combination of the three. The community's geography, topography, population density, development densities, and previous incident data are also factors to include. Furthermore, consider the forecasted use of undeveloped land. Although zoning restrictions are subject to change, zoning commissions usually have an idea of how much latitude they are willing to give developers. Last, take municipal water supply considerations into account. Each of these specific needs comes with its own inherent challenges for a fire department to overcome to ensure its constituency gets a piece of apparatus that can safely, efficiently, and effectively mitigate incidents.

Community-specific needs will help departments determine maximum height, weight, overall length, wheelbase, cramp angle, and angle of approach and departure requirements. Topography can aid in specifying engine torque, braking system requirements, and outrigger penetration requirements. Population density will aid departments in forecasting expected call volume and traffic congestion. Development density aids in determining hoseline types and lengths and portable and aerial ladder requirements. Development setbacks also vary widely among communities and must be taken into account. Data collected from previous incidents can identify the types and quantity of calls a unit will most likely respond to during its tenure. This data can also help crews recall what has worked with a current unit and what could make their service delivery easier in the street. Last, municipal water supply considerations will help determine the amount of water a unit must carry. This will also aid in the amount of water needed on auxiliary units such as tankers/tenders.

Fire Department

The fire department's capabilities are also an important component of an apparatus needs analysis. Staffing, station distribution, and mutual-aid availability are ex

Chris Mc Loone

He applied risk management to apparatus operation, maintenance, and training. Graham discussed the many facets of risk management and how risk managers study tragedies to identify their causes to prevent future tragedies. However, he asserts that not enough people have been taught that a given tragedy has multiple causes: proximate, contributory, root, and problems lying in wait. The problems lying in wait are what got me thinking.

The Debbie Downers among us will take a look at problems lying in wait and identify numerous items at their own fire departments within seconds. It will always be that way, and there is nothing we can do about that. But, when you put those numerous items through a strainer, some actual problems lying in wait might emerge, so it's never a good idea to dismiss the complainers.

By identifying problems lying in wait, a department is actually predicting potential issues before they occur and should then be determining control measures to ensure they don't become causes for tragedies. Basically, Graham sums this up by saying that predictable is preventable.

Do we have problems lying in wait in the fire service? We sure do. From the health and safety side, we have stations without diesel exhaust systems in which our walls and often our personal protective equipment are coated with a layer of diesel soot-an identified carcinogen. And, we have firefighters who are not physically fit enough to do the jobs they are called on to perform. Don't misunderstand-I'm not talking about overweight firefighters here. I'm what some would call "lanky." To look at me, one probably would not think I have any potential health issues that would bring me down during or following a fire where I am humping hose, clearing windows, carrying equipment up ladders, or removing fire victims. I get my annual physicals, including bloodwork to ensure my cholesterol isn't too high and my blood sugar is in a good zone.

But, what about firefighters out there built like me who do not get their physicals? What problems lying in wait are there for them? You can be skinny as a rail, but lack of exercise and conditioning along with a questionable diet could be the problem lying in wait that could quite frankly kill you.

On the apparatus side of the equation, the fire service has been experiencing a fair amount of apparatus accidents in recent months and, in 2014, preliminary figures indicate that the second leading cause of line-of-duty deaths was vehicle crashes-sometimes in personal vehicles responding to the firehouse and sometimes resulting from apparatus crashes. What are the problems lying in wait there? Is it poor driver training? Is it lack of strong leadership from the officer's seat? Is it undisciplined driving practices? If your driver training program is poor, that speaks for itself. If the officer "riding the seat" won't tell his driver to slow down, that's a problem lying in wait and a tragedy waiting to happen. Undisciplined driving practices grown from lack of leadership and poor driver training are also tragedies waiting to happen.

As I have come up through the ranks, my chief has often suggested stepping back at the scene to observe-obviously not in the heat of things. It is amazing what you see if you step back from time to time and observe what is happening vs. being in the thick of a situation. This isn't always easy in volunteer departments during the day. But, when possible, step back. What you're really doing wh

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By Bill Adams

"Mini Pumpers, Part 1: How Well Do They Really Work?" (September 2014) described the experiences of two fire departments with mini pumpers purchased in the 1980s.

It appears the fire service is giving mini pumpers a second look. Why? What's new? What are people purchasing? I asked apparatus manufacturers of all sizes. Their answers to some specific questions follow.

Are mini pumpers becoming popular?

Mike DuFrane, vice president, Florida Products Government Sales, Pierce Manufacturing: "Mini pumpers have an inherent size advantage over larger apparatus. We continue to see growth in mini pumper sales."

Trapper Meadors, sales engineer, Precision Fire Apparatus: "Mini pumpers can fit into very specific roles that a lot of departments have yet to see a need for. However, once the need is realized, they're perfect fits."

Mike Watts, national sales manager, Toyne Fire Apparatus: "Yes. They are finding a new purpose in the fire service."

Jim Kirvida, president, CustomFIRE: "There seems to be considerable interest, mostly for short-staffed duty crews."

Grady North, product manager, E-ONE: "The mini pumper concept is showing renewed interest."

Doug Kelley, mini pumper product manager, KME: "Yes, and growing. However, they're still a very small portion of the market overall. As a reference, there are fewer than 150 mini pumpers sold each year vs. about 2,500 to 3,000 full-size pumpers."

Joe Messmer, president, Summit Fire Apparatus: "Yes. We are finding fire departments want smaller trucks with a bigger punch. They are looking for more agile apparatus with four-wheel drive."

Are fire departments looking to accomplish specific missions with mini pumper purchases?

Kelley: "The educated customer is trying to take advantage of the mini's smaller size combined with the all-wheel-drive capability for tasks similar to accessing the backside of structures, such as garden apartments, with a master stream device; using the truck as a manifold truck up long driveways where larger trucks have a hard time accessing; using the all-wheel drive in disaster situations where roads may be partially blocked; and using the truck to access incidents in hard-to-reach locations, especially in heavy traffic or small streets."

Messmer: "They're looking for smaller trucks that weigh less and can get into tighter spots. Some departments are attempting to reduce the wear and tear on larger, more expensive apparatus to stretch the budget a little further."

Dufrane: "Departments responsible for protecting hard-to-reach areas where they can't get a traditional pumper or tanker through narrow, unpaved roads find the maneuverability of mini pumpers is an advantage. Pierce is seeing some being used as "first-out" vehicles instead of traditional pumpers. Departments with emergency medical service (EMS) responsibilities can run them with their emergency medical technicians on board."

Kirvida: "Initial response for both EMS and fire calls."

Meadors: "Smaller departments experiencing an influx of new, younger members are wanting a small unit people can feel more co

Peterson Manufacturing LumenX® LED line features a four-inch round strobe light and a six-inch oval strobe. Both models are rated for use as directional flashing warning devices on Class 1 and 2 emergency, maintenance, and service vehicles. The LED strobes feature white-diode LEDs and breakthrough optics. The new lens design illuminates the entire lens fully and evenly without hotspots or dead zones regardless of viewing angle. The LumenX LED Strobes feature: 73 quad flashes per minute, brightness that exceeds SAE J595 Class 1 specs, 12- and 24-volt compatibility, AMP-compatible weatherproof receptacle for corrosion protection, and grommet- and flange mounts available for all models. www.pmlights.com, 816-765-2000

Kussmaul Auto Charge 1000, with Parasitic Load Compensation (PLC), is a compact, microprocessor-controlled, completely automatic, single-channel battery charger designed for vehicles with a single battery system. The PLC charger is designed to withstand the shock and vibration encountered by vehicle-mounted equipment. This new parasitic load compensation feature is designed especially to meet the heavy-duty requirements of emergency vehicles. This charger has three remote indicator options. Option 1 is the standard, 10-element, single-bar-graph display. Option 2 is the Auto Charge Deluxe Status Indicator. This indicator has a digital voltage and ampere display, a five-segment bar graph display to indicate the output current, and four LEDs to show the condition of the batteries. Option 3 is the Watertight Auto Charge Deluxe Status Center. This is the same indicator as option 2, but the indicator is housed in a watertight bezel. The bezel is available in six different colors: red, white, blue, yellow, gray, and black. www.kussmaul.com, 800-346-0857

Holmatro ECO whisper mode minimizes noise and fuel consumption on three pump models in its Spider range. When operating a hydraulic rescue tool connected to one of these pumps, the engine speed automatically increases to maximum to ensure optimal equipment performance. When rescuers finish operating the tool, the engine reverts to ECO whisper mode, which keeps the pump running at a low idle speed. Not only does this reduce fuel consumption, which extends operation time, but the noise level also goes down. And because there's no need to switch off the pump in between operations, it's readily available for use again. The ECO whisper mode works in combination with CORE hoses up to 50 feet long. With the equipment connected and the pump running, users simply press the ECO button on the pump to activate and optimize this function for the rescue set they are working with. www.holmatro.com, 410-768-9662

KIMTEK Corporation FIRELITE® Transport FTUHP-400 series ultra-high-pressure (UHP) skid unit features the FoamPro® Turbo Stream® high-energy firefighting system offered by FRC Corporation. Powered by a Honda 13-hp gas motor with electric start, the skid unit delivers eight gpm at 1,400 psi. The patented foam concentration injector system allows a precise foam injection rate of between 0.3 and 3.0 percent, exceeding NFPA 1901 requirements. The FoamPro Turbo St