By Chris Mc Loone

I always enjoy putting together our December issue. Doing so gives me the chance to check in with industry suppliers and get an idea of where they feel their markets are headed in the coming year. Some might think, "Big deal. The tool manufacturers are optimistic. What's that got to do with me?" The answer is actually quite a bit.

When the manufacturers are saying that municipal budgets are showing less constraint, that means it's time for you to begin ensuring you get a piece of that pie. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant application period just opened, but it is time for us to stop relying on grant monies to accomplish what we need to do. If municipalities are starting to loosen the purse strings even a little bit, make sure you are the first in line to ensure your firefighters get new PPE, or that they get new apparatus that will stay out of the shop, or that they get SCBA that meets the most current edition of NFPA 1981.

You're not going to know whether or not your municipality has the money to spend unless you ask. The whole country knows we have suffered long enough, but what our budget directors are going to want is proof.

Data-Rich Environments

Like it or not, today we live in a world that is driven by data. We look at statistics to predict where the world economy is headed, whether to buy an ambulance or a pumper, or to plan our own capital improvements on our homes. Usually data are available at the click of a mouse. But, one area where many departments still struggle is documenting their activities to use as criteria for capital purchases.

For example, my department is working to achieve national accreditation. This has been a sometimes arduous process, especially in the beginning when we were getting systems in place to collect data regarding our training, our responses, our records, and attendance levels. Data collection required some companies in the department to change certain processes within their own organizations-no easy feat when most of the companies in the department are more than 100 years old and have been using their own processes the entire time.

Although the department is still several months away from finding out if it is accredited, the data we have collected have already resulted in many benefits. For one thing, we now have a more formal "seat at the table" with our elected commissioners. A few tangible benefits have been realized. We received funding for an expanded training program, which includes capital expenditures; we have expanded our training facility with a larger multipurpose training building; we constructed a training/storage building for the various training props and training equipment we have accrued; and, most importantly, at least one public safety training academy will send instructors to our facility for Firefighter I classes.

Another example is a preventive maintenance reimbursement program. The data we have collected have been used as justification for this program, under which each company is reimbursed by the township for preventive maintenance performed on apparatus, equipment, and facilities.

Obviously, not every department will realize such benefits. Economic realities are what they are. However, through a proactive program, it is possible to more effectively place your department "on the map" of your municipality, thus securing the funding necessary for you to continue providing the services your community has come to expect. Being able to prove you are doing what you say you are doing has benefits that transcend just counting pennies. It is hard to argue with data.

We have struggled enough during the economic downturn. The time is now for you to get your "seat at the table" and demand the funding that is long overdue for your department. If you have been assembling data, get them organized and present them effec

Chris Mc Loone

If there's one thing the current economy has taught most of us, it's that there is no crystal ball we can use to predict when things are going to turn around. Even when things start to look like they're going pretty well, we again realize that very little of this is within our control. So, although things are pointing toward a 2014 that is better than 2013, the optimism remains understandably tempered.

Market Outlook

Many fire industry manufacturers are proceeding with caution considering the fragility of the economy. Things are better than they have been, but there is still a long way to go. "We are optimistic that municipal budgets will continue the improvement we have seen in the last couple of years," says Giff Swayne, president, Holmatro, Inc. "It is of course a fragile recovery, and there is still a good deal of pressure on fire department budgets. But, overall we are cautiously optimistic that the gains we have seen over the past couple of years will continue. During the depth of the recession and housing crisis, it was common to hear that departments were deferring purchases of new equipment because of budget cuts. But, we are not hearing that much anymore."

David Durstine, vice president, marketing, Akron Brass Company, says that his company is optimistic for the North American fire service and is looking forward to seeing industry growth in 2014. "Although we expect the growth to be mild, there is a pent-up demand as many fire departments have been delaying purchases or equipment upgrades over the past four to five years, and we are beginning to see a positive outlook on many city and state budgets."

Braun Industries is also looking forward to continued growth. "The economic indicators show a slight increase in growth for our industry in 2014," says Chad Brown, vice president, sales and marketing.

On the apparatus side, Bobby Williams, vice president, sales and marketing, Pierce Manufacturing, says federal demand will remain down, but the company continues to see evidence for improvement in municipal demand. "Some of the areas that were hit harder economically are now beginning to show signs of life," he says. "More of the larger fleet customers are starting the buying cycles, which is promising."

Economy's Effects

Of course, the general state of the economy will have an effect on the fire industry and municipality buying patterns. It's hard to pinpoint what the exact state of the economy is, but William Smith, president and CEO of Waterous, says, "Over the last two years, the economy has been stabilized and has been showing positive signs. As long as the government continues to support the fire service, 2014 will be a good year."

Keeping an eye on Washington, D.C., is key. "I wish that there was a defined state of the economy," says Swayne. "The gridlock in Washington, the uncertainty brought on by new legislations and regulations, and the roller coaster that is fiscal policy will play a role in our market in 2014. The problem is no one seems to have a clear understanding of where we are heading economically."

Durstine adds, "As we saw recently with the United States federal government shutdown, optimism could change at the flip of a coin or significant events beyond our control."

Braun cites the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as a potential influencer on companies in his market. "I think there is some hesitation in the marketplace with ACA and how that will impact the departments and agencies financially."

Swayne adds, "The recovery we have seen is fragile. Although the grants and Fire Administration funding seem to be intact for fiscal 2014, we need to keep a close eye on Washington and work with all industry stakeholders to ensure it stays that way."

Willi

Alan M. Petrillo

The Bel Air (MD) Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) is one of the busiest volunteer departments in Maryland, covering an 80-square-mile area as first-due response and providing mutual aid to three counties. Last year Bel Air ran 6,495 emergency medical service (EMS) calls with four first-line advanced life support (ALS) ambulances.

Specific Need

Bel Air VFD, centrally located in Harford County, operates out of three stations and averages nearly 24 EMS calls a day, so quality, ease of maintenance, and reliability were chief concerns when the department looked to purchase a new ambulance, says Greg Sentman, the department's ambulance committee chairman. "PL Custom gave us the option of using a 12-volt hardwired electrical system instead of a multiplex system," Sentman says. "Because of the number of ambulance calls we run, the time required for service, as well as the ease of getting parts for a 12-volt system, we decided not to go with a multiplex system."

(1) The Bel Air (MD) Volunteer Fire Department chose PL Custom Emergency Vehicles to build three Type 1 ambulances to upgrade its fleet. (Photos courtesy of PL Custom Emergency Vehicles.)

Sentman notes, "It's easier to go to our local automotive electrical shop and buy a $10 relay rather than take an ambulance out of service to run it to a dealer's shop in Baltimore to adjust the multiplex." The onsite mechanic that PL Custom offered also was a selling point because his location was only about two hours away from Bel Air's main station.

Rig Trifecta

Shortly after Bel Air awarded the ambulance contract to PL Custom, the department increased its order to two identical ALS ambulances. Ultimately, Bel Air VFD ended up ordering a third rig from PL Custom, which is currently being built.

Chad Newsome, PL Custom's national sales manager, says that his firm had spoken with Bel Air in the past but that it was never able to get the department as a customer. "DPC Emergency Equipment, in Marydel, Maryland and Delaware, is the one that made this happen," Newsome says. "DPC was able to sell them the first ambulance, then Bel Air ordered a second, and now we are building a third for them. It's gratifying any time you are able to win a new account, but more so when they come back and order more trucks."

(2) Bel Air opted to include a squad bench in its ambulances so their interiors were similar to other ambulances in its fleet.

The ambulances are duplicate rigs, Newsome notes, with only small refinements among them and no wholesale changes. Each vehicle is built on a 2013 International 4300 M7 chassis and powered by a 300-hp International MaxxForce 7 diesel engine and an Allison 2200 EVS automatic transmission.

Jeff Hawkins, DPC Emergency Equipment's sales and marketing coordinator, says he brought a demo unit to Bel Air early in the purchasing process and after the specs were put out, PL Custom was one of three bidders for the contract. "It was a fairly clean bid spec where they wanted to duplicate their current interior layout but wanted the truck on a 12-volt electrical system," Hawkins says. "We were able to do that for the

Chris Mc Loone

CM: How has the ACCESS pump module been received thus far?

ST: The ACCES module has been very well received. At FDIC we had very good reviews of that product and we've continued to send out specifications to fire departments that want to write this product into their specs. The biggest thing that intrigued the folks in the fire service was the access-the ability to lift it up and get inside and do repairs without a whole lot of "turning yourself into a pretzel" and for not that much additional money. Some actuators, a hinge, and some adjustments-you have to split the module at the point just below the hose trays. Based on that, the interest has been tremendous.

CM: What do you see as the biggest issue in the fire service right now, and how does Waterous work to address it?

ST: I think the biggest issue in the fire service right now continues to be lack of revenues in fire departments in North America. I think Canada is doing better than the United States as far as that goes. How are we helping with that? We continue to work hard at Waterous to keep the cost down in our product and come up with innovations that provide the fire suppression capability in the pumping part of the apparatus but keep the cost down.

CM: What do you think is the most important Waterous innovation for the fire service during recent years?

ST: I really believe that, and it's not an innovation in the truest sense, but from a pumping standpoint, from the fire suppression standpoint, it is compressed air foam and the improvements in that part of fire suppression or the pumping part of the apparatus. In particular, our new ONE STEP, and that's a Waterous innovation. Overall, CAFS has really taken more center stage. I think from the standpoint of innovation, what has been done with compressed air foam from the actual foams-they are vastly improved-proportioning, again vastly improved, and ONE STEP and its ability to mix the three components in CAFS-water, foam, and air-most efficiently and come out with a product that is far superior to straight water.

CM: What's next for Waterous?

ST: Waterous is going to continue to make improvements to our products. We continue to improve where we are headed with our ONE STEP product in compressed air foam, and then electronic pump controls.

CM: What keeps you up at night?

ST: Being director of sales and marketing here at Waterous, what keeps me up at night is really keeping business coming in the door here at Waterous. Over the past four or five years, the economy has really been a problem. It's been coming up, so we've seen improvement there. And, I'm very excited about what's coming up for the future and so business is coming in the door, but the main thing that keeps me up at night is keeping the shops busy for our employees.