By Richard Marinucci

It has been said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Today's fire apparatus continue to evolve into more diverse vehicles with more parts and functions.

Having reliable components in all aspects of fire apparatus is extremely important for a variety of reasons. Most obvious is the need to keep vehicles in service to deliver the services expected by the taxpayers and public. As vehicles have more functions, parts, and components, the chances of something not working as intended increase. Departments need to do more to learn how these items interact and what is needed to keep them operating. Regardless of which component is not functioning properly, anything that takes a vehicle out of service affects performance.

Reliability

Consider everything that goes into a modern piece of fire apparatus. There are the obvious parts of the chassis such as brakes, transmissions, engines, and everything else contributing to moving the vehicle down the road. Like most vehicles today, not just those designed for the fire service, fire apparatus are not quite as easy to work on as those from years gone. I think today's vehicles are so much better and reliable than those in the past, are much easier to operate, and do more.

Reliability is directly related to maintenance and following a manufacturer's instructions. Preventive maintenance is critical-not just for the core components of a vehicle but for anything that requires attention. Maintaining a vehicle is more than performing a lube, oil, and filter change. Pay attention to all critical components. The supplier will have suggestions regarding this. Failure to follow this guidance can void a warranty as well as lead to premature failure of a part. There are also recommendations within National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards that offer minimum maintenance requirements.

Case in Point

I recently attended a seminar presented by the deputy commissioner of the Detroit (MI) Fire Department. He related problems created by failing to follow NFPA recommendations regarding ladder and elevated platform testing. Because of many issues within the department, including extreme financial challenges, it did not perform much of this routine maintenance and testing. The result was that almost all of the ladder trucks were forced out of service until the department could complete the preventive maintenance. This placed an incredible strain on the organization's response capabilities. In this case, the old saying that "you can pay me now or pay me later" rang true. The department, no doubt, has faced and faces some significant financial challenges, but neglecting core responsibilities ended up costing more than just money. It impacted service for a period of time.

It is easy to dismiss this as just one of the byproducts of a city in deep distress. But in talking to others, there are many more departments that don't meet their obligations regarding components maintenance compared to the manufacturer's recommendations or NFPA standards. It could be for a variety of reasons-mostly financial-but it could also be time or having personnel capable of doing it. Regardless, failure to stay up on the maintenance of the entire vehicle and its components could prove detrimental.

Although not always possible, departments should consider required maintenance when specifying components for vehicles. If something requires time and money above the norm, then perhaps consider a part that requires less. Being maintenance-free has its advantages but may not be realistic. But, ease of routine and minimum required preventive maintenance also have their value.

Responsibility

In every organization, one individual should be assigned ultimate responsibility for vehicle maintenance-including components. Who will do it will vary by the size and budge

By Alan M. Petrillo

Almost every first-due apparatus carries a ventilation fan of some sort on the rig, and often fire departments have special compartments designed on their pumpers, aerials, and rescues to accommodate an assortment of ventilation equipment.

The types of ventilation fans available today range from gasoline- and electric-powered units to hydraulically powered blowers that use the water flow from a hoseline to move volumes of air.

From Ejector to Positive Pressure

Roger Weinmeister, president of Super Vac, says since the mid 1990s there has been a strong push among fire departments toward using positive-pressure ventilation (PPV) equipment and away from traditional smoke ejectors. "That trend reached a high point about 10 years ago and now is moving more toward electric-powered fans with big motors," he says. "Gasoline-powered fans require a lot of maintenance," he notes, which is one of the chief reasons for the swing toward electric motors on positive-pressure fans, along with a movement toward variable speed motors. "The nice thing about a variable speed fan is that it can fake out normal 60-cycle electricity and make the fan run faster on its variable speed, which gives the fan a little bit more push and makes for a higher-capacity fan," Weinmeister points out. He maintains that variable speed fans make up the bulk of the electrical positive-pressure fan market today.

A firefighter sets up a Super Vac electric PPV fan at the entrance to a building. (Photo courtesy of Super Vac.)

Weinmeister estimates that a variable speed fan can increase the fan's capacity by 30 to 40 percent. "A typical motor runs at 1,700 revolutions per minute (rpm), but with a variable-speed motor, you can get up to 2,400 rpm for the same size motor," he notes. "The higher speed gets you better performance."

Super Vac's most popular electric positive-pressure ventilation fan is its VR3. Its biggest seller has a 6½-horsepower (hp) Honda motor with an 18-inch fan that displaces 15,500 cubic feet per meter (cfm) of air. Its next most popular fan is a 20-inch-blade model with the same horsepower motor but a larger shroud that can push up to 18,500 cfm.

Smoke ejectors are still used by a lot of fire departments, Weinmeister says, and are the right way to go in a lot of situations, especially where there is limited egress. "A smoke ejector used the right way to vent can pull fresh air from all over a building and exhaust it where the seat of the fire was located," he observes.

Weinmeister recommends that fire departments choose the largest fan that will fit easily into a compartment. "You want to move the most air possible," he notes.

He says that his company has battery-powered ventilation fans that it is excited about. "They give firefighters the ability set up a vent without a generator or power cords and will push almost as much air as a gasoline-driven fan," he says. "They'll run about 20 minutes, then can be supplied off a cord from the fire vehicle."

Allowing for Entry

James Neils, chief executive officer of Ventry Solutions Inc., notes his company makes both gasoline and electric PPV fans that can be used for aggressive attack to remove smoke from a structure to allow fire crews to make entry. "Our fans allow firefighters to set up about 10 feet outside of a building and shoot air into the structure to clear the air," Neils says. "We make eight gas-powered models a