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The purpose of the Fire Mechanics Section is to promote standardization of fire apparatus and equipment preventative maintenance, improve safety standards and practices, promote workshops, conferences, and seminars related to the purposes of this Section, and to promote cost savings through standardization of building and equipment purchasing and maintenance.

RECENT FIRE MECHANIC NEWS

Posted: Apr 19, 2025

Rahway (NJ) Approves Purchase of New $884 Pumper for FD

N.J. Community News
nj.com
(TNS)

The Rahway City Council has approved the purchase of a new state-of-the-art fire pumper truck. The resolution, passed during the April 14 meeting, authorizes a contract agreement with Spartan Motors, a vendor of the Sourcewell Cooperative Pricing System, for an amount not exceeding $884,610.

The new Spartan ER Extreme Duty Pumper is set to replace the current pumper truck, which, while still functional, is nearing the end of its recommended 15-year lifespan. By proactively ordering the new truck, the city aims to “ensure a seamless transition and maintain optimal service and safety standards.” This replacement will help preserve quick response times and safeguard the city’s fire safety rating, which can impact homeowners’ insurance costs.

Mayor Raymond Giacobbe emphasized the significance of this investment, stating, “This isn’t just about getting a new truck. It’s about protecting our residents and giving our firefighters the tools they need to do their job safely and effectively. When we invest in equipment like this, we’re investing directly in our community’s well-being.”

Pumper trucks play a crucial role in firefighting operations, transporting water, hoses, and tools to the scene of a fire, enabling firefighters to respond swiftly and efficiently. The ER Extreme Duty Pumper is designed for “reliability, advanced safety features, and high-performance operation under extreme conditions.” The new truck is expected to be delivered next summer.

The acquisition of the new pumper truck is part of a broader initiative to modernize and support Rahway’s public service departments. “Our city’s future depends on making smart, timely investments—whether that’s in public safety, infrastructure, or community programs,” Giacobbe said.

As the city progresses with the order and delivery timeline, residents can anticipate updates on the arrival of the new fire pumper truck.

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Submit Union County community news to union@njadvancemedia.com.

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Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story, which was reviewed and edited by NJ Advance Media staff.

©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit nj.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The post Rahway (NJ) Approves Purchase of New $884 Pumper for FD appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

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Posted: Apr 18, 2025

U.S. Senators Investigating Fire Apparatus Delays and Costs

On April 3, 2025, U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Andy Kim (D-N.J.), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Disaster Management, sent a letter to the CEOs of REV Group, Oshkosh Corp., and Rosenbauer America requesting information on their order backlogs, an explanation for delayed deliveries, as well as lists of prices for fire apparatus.

The Senators cited an article in the New York Times that covered increased costs and delivery delays that exist in the fire apparatus market currently.

Specifically, the Senators requested the following:

  1. An itemization of all delayed deliveries of fire trucks and related equipment.
  2. A comprehensive explanation outlining the reasons for these delayed deliveries.
  3. A full accounting of prices charged for fire trucks and related equipment, including the change in prices over time.
  4. A complete list of complaints [the] firms have received from fire departments seeking remediation.

In addition, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.), have opened a bipartisan investigation and on April 15, 2025, wrote to the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) citing reports they received from chiefs in Massachusetts and Indiana regarding delays and price increases and posed several questions to IAFF president Ed Kelly related to these chiefs’ concerns and to better understand the scope of what is going on in the industry today.

Sens. Hawley and Lee asked for answers to their questions by April 16, 2025, and Sens. Warren and Banks gave the IAFF until April 29, 2025, to provide responses to their questions.

Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment requested comments from the three fire apparatus manufacturers. Oshkosh Corporation and Rosenbauer declined to comment. REV Group provided the following statement:

“The recent media coverage suggests that the industry-wide price increases and extended manufacturing lead times for fire trucks are due in sole or large part to market consolidation and lack of competition, which is inaccurate and does not take into consideration the challenges faced by the industry.

In the last five years, particularly during the pandemic, fire apparatus prices and delivery times have increased across the fire industry in the United States, driven by inflationary pressures, supply chain and labor constraints. At the same time, the industry experienced an unprecedented increase in demand, which accompanied the stimulus provided by the CARES and Inflation Reduction Acts, and greatly increased industry backlogs. With respect to increased demand, according to internal data from the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association (FAMA), orders for new firefighting vehicles in the United States increased approximately 43%, from an average of 4,169 units a year from 2011–2020, to an average of 5,946 a year from 2021–2023. This occurred at the same time that production was already constrained by the pandemic-related challenges.

REV Group has been working hard to address these challenges. As reported, REV Group has increased our production throughput for our fire and emergency vehicles by almost 30% in the last two years to help fire departments receive their trucks more quickly. While REV Group continues to offer fully custom vehicles for our customers who want them, we have also established lines of semi-custom vehicles with a modular design. This allows REV Group to deliver a highly capable vehicle to customers at a great value, in industry-leading delivery times of less than one year.

In summary, the U.S. fire truck industry has faced incredible challenges, and our team has worked hard to overcome these obstacles and are making good progress. We take tremendous pride in providing our n

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Posted: Apr 18, 2025

Fire Chief Considerations: The Accident Review

According to the National Fire Protection Association, in 2023, an estimated 19,225 collisions involved fire department emergency vehicles responding to or returning from incidents, resulting in 1,450 injuries.

Although motor vehicle collisions are an unfortunate reality of the fire service, it is important that fire chiefs recognize that each accident offers a learning opportunity for themselves and the members of their department. One way to help ensure that lessons are learned after each accident is to ensure a comprehensive accident review process is undertaken. It is vital that each accident is properly investigated so immediate and root causes can be identified and hopefully prevented in the future. Accident review protocols should be established within all departments to ensure information is shared and identified issues are addressed before a recurrence. A proper accident review process includes five main steps.

STEP ONE: IMMEDIATE RESPONSE AND SCENE PRESERVATION

The first priority of any accident is to ensure that the scene is safe from further hazards and that anyone who may have sustained injury during the accident is promptly assessed and provided medical treatment or transported to an appropriate medical facility. Once the scene is safe and protected from further hazards, the investigation process should begin as soon as practical. The investigator should work with responding police officers to control the scene and access to the site. The investigator should also ensure the preservation of evidence from alteration or removal, attempt to determine loss potential, and make the appropriate contacts per department protocols.

As with any investigations, the sooner an accident investigator can speak with witnesses and those involved, the more likely it is to obtain accurate information. If it is impossible to conduct full interviews at the scene, at a minimum the investigator should attempt to obtain the names of those injured and the names and contact information of all the witnesses. As with most investigations, the more time that passes between the event and interviews, the more likely it is to forget or miss details.

STEP TWO: COLLECT RELEVANT INFORMATION

The second step includes collecting information. This can be done through observations on scenes, the collecting photographs and videos, and interviews with witnesses and those involved. While there is often much information to collect on the scene, additional information will likely be collected at other times and locations following the event.

The main goal of investigators on scene should be to observe and collect as much information related to the circumstances of the accident as possible. They should note weather and road conditions, take photographs/videos, and draw a sketch of the position of all vehicles and any objects involved in the collision. Additionally, investigators should collect and note the identification numbers of the vehicles involved and collect any relevant operating logs or records.

Conduct interviews as soon as possible to ensure the most accurate information. This is often the most important information an investigator will collect in the cause determination process. Fire chiefs should ensure that investigators are trained in proper interview techniques so that the most information possible can be retrieved.

STEP THREE: ANALYSIS OF COLLECTED INFORMATION

The next step is analyzing the information collected from the scene and reviewing any follow-up information collected or subsequent interviews. During this step, the investigator should begin to draw some preliminary conclusions about the likely immediate causes and root causes of the accident. This is a very important step, as it has implications for all remaining processes.

An immediate cause of

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Posted: Apr 18, 2025

Interesting Rigs at FDIC International 2025, Part 1

I was unable to attend last week’s FDIC International 2025, so I asked several people to forward me photographs of some apparatus displayed. My captions are based upon what I observed from the photos. Unless noted, the following photos are courtesy of Tom Shand.

Photo 1. This KME pumper’s roto-ray warning light is mounted well below the windshield where it will not distract the driver – a smart move. The mechanical siren is semi-recessed in a bumper notch. The bumper’s fascia is notched allowing a “straight through” preconnected soft suction sleeve. It eliminates the friction loss in two elbows when a swiveling elbow is provided above the apron. Note the low hosebed and the rear large-diameter hose (LDH) connection on the rig in the left background.
Photo 2. This Deep South tanker has a semi blacked-out rear-end. Slide-in storage labeled “Dump Pond” is on the driver’s side.  Slide-in storage on the officer’s side is labeled ladders and pike poles. There’s a 2½-inch direct tank fill on each side of the dump valve.  A 2½-inch discharge is mounted high on the right side.  Hard sleeves are probably slid in the compartments at the upper rear each side.
Photo 3.
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Fire Mechanics Section Board

Chair

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Chair

Elliot Courage
North Whatcom Fire & Rescue
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Vice Chair

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Vice Chair

Mike Smith 
Pierce County Fire District #5
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Secretary

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Secretary

Greg Bach
South Snohomish County Fire & Rescue
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Director #1

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #1

Doug Jones
South Kitsap Fire & Rescue
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Director #2

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #2

Paul Spencer 
Fire Fleet Maintenance LLC
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Director #3

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #3

Jim Morris
Mountain View Fire Department
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Director #4

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #4

Arnie Kuchta

Clark County Fire District 6

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Director #6

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #6

Brett Annear
Kitsap County Fire District 18
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Director #5

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Director #5

Jay Jacks
Camano Island Fire & Rescue
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Legislative Representative

Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Legislative Representative

TBD
TBD
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Immediate Past Chair

Posted: Oct 20, 2015

Immediate Past Chair

Brian Fortner
Graham Fire & Rescue

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