By Robert Tutterow

Is there such a thing as painless cost cutting? Yes. And, it has to do with the operating costs of fire stations. Granted, the cost reductions may not be big savings over a short period of time, but over the lifespan of a fire station the costs are fairly significant. Consider the following "average" building initial and ongoing lifespan costs as determined by Thomas Dolan Planning and Management. The initial costs are broken down as follows: land costs are less than one percent; design is one percent; construction is 20 percent; and original furnishings are six percent. The ongoing costs are broken down as follows: replacement furnishings are four percent; operations and utilities are 16 percent; maintenance is 29 percent; and interest on construction loans is 24 percent. The ongoing costs for a fire station are higher than an average building if it is occupied 24/7. There are several ways to reduce ongoing costs and direct the funds toward items that have a direct and positive impact on service delivery and, most importantly, firefighter safety.

Turning Green

The fire service has always paid attention to building construction, and the green building movement is no exception. We often think that green only applies to new construction. However, there are several elements of green that can be applied to existing stations. At last year's annual F.I.E.R.O. Fire Station Symposium, Keith Pehl with Optima Engineering and Ken Newell with Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects gave a presentation titled "Reducing Operating Costs and Maintaining Your Existing Station-Practical Sustainability." In their presentation, they reported that green buildings can reduce energy use from 24 to 50 percent, CO₂ emissions from 33 to 39 percent, water use by 40 percent, and solid waste by 70 percent. In addition to the economic benefits of green buildings to a department's community, green buildings show that the fire department is being socially responsible and good stewards of the environment.

The need to control fire station utility costs will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. For example, electricity costs have increased 22 percent in the past ten years and natural gas costs have increased 100 percent. Most utility companies estimate an average increase of four percent annually for the next 10 years. And, the Carbon Cap and Trade legislation is estimated to create an overnight increase of 20 percent on energy costs. Do the math. Are these costs that the fire service should continue to absorb without any attempt to manage them?

There are additional benefits for green buildings. They provide for a healthier environment for firefighters. There is a tremendous improvement in air quality. Green buildings do a better job of controlling temperature, humidity, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and particulates. This leads to less likelihood for mold and mildew growth.

Sustainable Measures

What are other "sustainable" measures that fire departments can take to minimize the lifespan costs of their stations? If a new station is being planned, it is imperative that the design incorporate expansion plans. This includes additional apparatus bay space; additional dormitory space; additional office space; and maybe, most importantly, additional storage space.

Material selection is a primary consideration in long-term sustainability. Base material selection on durability and low maintenance. Do not forget exterior materials. For parking and drive areas, there are light duty materials and heavy duty materials. Areas for fire apparatus and other heavy vehicles must use heavy duty materials-i.e., properly installed reinforced concrete or pavers. Driveway and parking areas for light vehicles can use light duty materials such as asphalt. Departments should take measures to restrict access to the light duty surface

By Chris Mc Loone

I've been giving personal protective gear (PPE)-specifically turnout gear-a lot of thought recently. I'm not sure why. It could have been the live burn evolutions we completed recently and reminding the crew to wash its gear as soon as possible. It might have been recently sharing what life was like at the fire company when I joined vs. what it's like for the new members today regarding PPE.

Times Change

Back then, you had new gear if it was tan and old gear if it was black. As the newbie, I started off with black gear. It didn't fit right. I stand at about six feet, three inches, but I'm a pretty lanky fellow, and I was swimming in that first turnout coat. The bunker pants were OK. They didn't fit perfectly, but they were long enough to go over my second-hand boots that thankfully were size 13. This particular set of gear came with what most newbies today wouldn't recognize at all-a Jones Snap key. My helmet was also a hand-me-down. It came from a firefighter who wasn't very active and appeared to be a little offended that the lieutenant in charge of gear at the time handed it off to me. It was old enough that it did not have a crank on it in the back to adjust the size-also a sign that you were being issued older equipment. My gloves initially came with the gear and were used, but that was quickly rectified. Only a few of us had Nomex® hoods at the time. 1993 was the year, but times have changed.

These days rookies get a pretty new set of gear, many times not even at its half life. They get older gear first and are usually upgraded to new gear purchased for them within the first couple of years. Today when they start Firefighter 1, an instructor will inspect their gear to ensure it includes everything the fire academy calls for. If the student's gear isn't up to snuff, he will have to ensure it is by the next class session. Today this includes having a Nomex® hood-not a requirement in 1993 when I went through my first Firefighter 1 program. Helmet ear flaps were enough.

Besides reminiscing about 20 years ago, however, I have been giving a lot of thought to PPE care and construction.

Knowing Your Tools

Many of us could talk about a particular tool or apparatus forever-especially if we are part of the team to pick it out. Those of us on purchasing committees have the luxury of being intimately familiar most times about whatever we've picked out, and we're very good about passing that knowledge to our firefighters so they can be as proficient as possible in using these tools. But, how many of us know as much about our PPE as we should?

PPE is as important a tool as anything we use for fire attack or other incidents. It is imperative that we know as much about it as we can. Most of us can state what manufacturer of turnout gear we don when the alarm bell rings. But, how many of us can say with any degree of certainty who produces the vapor barrier or what company provides the fabric? I certainly hope the purchasing committee that chose the gear can tell you.

Take the time when your gear comes in to sit down and read the documentation that comes with it. Learn about the standards it complies with. Learn about how it is tested for compliance. And, read about PPE in general to stay abreast of what is happening. You might be surprised to know just how much science goes into that coat you put on. Ever wonder why it is lighter than the first jacket your department issued you?

PPE Care

Finally, I've been thinking about PPE care. Any number of fire service leaders will tell you that keeping your gear clean will go a long way toward the health and safety of your firefighters. It seems pretty obvious. Go to a fire, clean your gear. But, how about all the calls you don't go to? What about all the times that gear that's near the exhaust pipe of the apparatus is exposed to the diesel exhaust? PPE ca

Alan M. Petrillo

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1962, Standard for the Care, Use, Inspection, Service Testing and Replacement of Fire Hose, Couplings, Nozzles and Fire Hose Appliances (2013 ed.), makes a number of changes that affect how fire departments use some of the basic tools and equipment available to them in extinguishing fires.

The purpose of NFPA 1962, says Jim Glatts of FireOne and a member of the NFPA committee on fire hose that pulled together the revised standard, "is to provide a reasonable level of safety for users of fire hose and a reasonable degree of assurance that the hose, coupling assemblies, appliances, and nozzles will perform as designed."

Glatts points out that updating the standard was important when one considers the many changes in technology and materials that have been incorporated into hoselines, nozzles, appliances, and couplings over the years.

(1) Fire departments now must system test together all of the elements that go into a firefighting attack line. (Photos courtesy of FireOne.)

Change Rundown

The major changes made in the 2013 standard, Glatts says, include the following:

• Hose manufactured prior to July 1987 shall be removed from service.

• Nozzles shall be service tested at least as frequently as the hose to which it is attached.

• Attack fire hose shall be service tested to a minimum of 300 pounds per square inch (psi).

• Supply fire hose shall be service tested to a minimum of 200 psi.

• System tests shall be conducted at least annually on each preconnected line or any attack line used for interior firefighting operations on a fire apparatus, together with the nozzle or hose-connected appliance it supplies.

• All nonthreaded hose connections shall be provided with locks to ensure against unintentional disconnection.

• Fire hose users and the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) shall establish a replacement schedule for their fire hose. The replacement schedule shall take into consideration the use, age, and testing results of the hose.

Jason Goodale, a company officer with Loveland (CO) Fire and Rescue Authority and NFPA Committee on Fire Hose member, says that although the revised standard covers a lot of ground, he doesn't think it will cause much difficulty in most fire departments. "There was some discussion before the standard was revised about having a shelf life for hose similar to that for personal protective equipment (PPE) of 10 years," Goodale says. "The committee found that it would be difficult for many fire departments to work under such a requirement for hose. It could be financially destructive to many of them having to replace a great deal of hose all at once."

(2) Supply lines still must be tested annually to 200 psi, which is unchanged from the previous NFPA 1962 edition.

Changing Materials

Glatts points out that hose materials and manufacturing standards have changed over the years, and those elements mean that hose is of higher quality and can take higher pressures. "The earlier version of the standard required attack hose to be tested to 250 psi and supply line to 200 psi," he says. "The new standard increases the pressure to 300 psi for attack line and leaves supply line the same. However, if a five-inch supply line becomes the sole source of an attack line

By Chad Newsome,
National Sales Manager, P.L.
Custom Body and Equipment Co., Inc.

In the July issue of Fire Apparatus and Emergency Equipment, Associate Editor Chris Mc Loone's article, "Building Apparatus that Won't Break the Budget," discussed various avenues to explore when designing a new piece of apparatus. One of the areas that he touched on was the inherent predicament of harmonizing needs vs. wants. Before looking for your next piece of apparatus, or any large capital expenditure for that matter, take the time to define what it is that you need, as well as what you can afford, before calling in the sales representative. Knowing how to navigate your way through competing goals will greatly ease your purchasing process.

Organizational Needs

Every new acquisition should start with defining the needs of the organization. To effectively achieve this, the department must first break down what is in fact a "need." For that, you need to first delineate who the purchasing group will be. A purchasing group is made up of all of the people involved in the process of acquiring a new piece of apparatus. In some departments, it is as small as only the chief or president of the department. At the other end of the spectrum, the purchasing group can be made up of multiple subgroups-the apparatus committee, the department's administrative personnel, fleet services, the purchasing department of the municipality making the purchase, and even the local political governing members.

For the small scenario, the needs will be simple. If the chief or president is happy, everyone is happy. For the larger group, however, the ability to identify and qualify needs and wants is paramount. With so many people involved, one person, acting as the facilitator, must be designated as the project lead for the acquisition. That person must meet with each subgroup to ascertain what the specific drivers are for each of them. The key here is not to discount any identified concern from any of the subgroups, despite how you feel personally about another's needs.

Each subgroup meeting should identify every possible need, regardless of any perceived value of that need. I personally like to use the practice of forced ranking, or "boarding," those needs and then going through a process of prioritization. Boarding is a method of compiling all identified needs into a list. Don't discuss them or qualify them, just get them out and on the list. Once that is achieved, go back and have everyone in the subgroup rank them in levels of importance. Give each member five votes toward the ranking process. Although they cannot apply all five votes to one need, they can put as many as three votes toward any one item. The items with the most votes will be your needs list, while the smaller vote getters will identify your wants list.

Include other Groups

This process can be used with all the subgroups. Although it may appear obvious that this process works well with operational and service personnel, you might wonder how to apply this with the purchasing and governing personnel. Don't exclude them from the process. Purchasing might want to spread out the costs over a long period of time; or, in the case of a nonprofit with too much revenue, it might want to actually spend some of that excess money. It sounds crazy these days, but it is a well-traveled road. The same can be said of the purchase's political implications. What are the local governance's biggest concerns? Will the purchase promote a commitment to the safety of the community? Will there be backlash against buying new vehicles when budget and personnel cuts are looming? Go through the same process. Identify all of their concerns and then separate out the "need-to-haves" from the "want-to-haves."

Project Outline

Once you establish a final collection