Sutphen—Bloomington Township (MI) Fire Department pumper. Monarch extreme-duty cab and chassis; S2 body; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; Hale Qmax 1,500-gpm pump; UPF Poly 750-gallon water tank; 20-gallon foam cell; Hale FoamLogix 2.1 single-agent foam system. Dealer: David R. Desrochers, Apollo Fire Equipment, Romeo, MI.

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By Bill Adams

There’re times old people should just sit in the corner, listen to the birds sing, and keep to themselves. This probably is one of them, but I just can’t help myself. A raisin squad member at morning coffee was showing a video or movie or whatever they’re called on the Face-Tube or whatever setting on his “Smarter-Than-Me” cellphone. I can’t remember which career department it showed, but it doesn’t matter because they really didn’t do anything wrong.

It showed what looked like an apartment building–a very large two-and-a-half story wooden structure with flames blowing out of a couple side-by-side windows in a top-floor dormer directly impinging on the roof eves. It appeared two or three rigs had arrived simultaneously. An aerial was coming out of its bed, and you could see a crew had already entered the front door with a handline. A firefighter gave the “flaming windows” a good blast from the street with a handline obviously trying to darken it down before it got into the attic.

The Squad discussed the video in depth. Those of us needing glasses watched it carefully. We agreed the first line should be humped inside to the seat of a fire–except in extraordinary circumstances. Bear in mind our real-life experiences happened a long time ago with boosters and inch-and-a-half lines. Most of us haven’t been close enough to a fire to get warm in years. We were not in agreement in the benefit of darkening down a “room and contents” job from the outside. We couldn’t tell if the tactic we saw in the video actually prevented extension into the attic. It was all speculation, guesses, and what-ifs–just like Monday morning quarterbacking. White hairs are good at that. We weren’t there but we all agreed a good attempt was made and it didn’t appear to harm anything or anyone.

The squad began reminiscing about calls we’d actually been to where it took a long time for a line to reach the fire. Multi-story apartment buildings and large homes converted into four of five small apartments were examples. Some houses had front, rear, and side entrances to apartments. I think one white hair might have been stretching it a bit (his story–not the hose line) when he said the third line pulled at one call finally found the fire.

Regardless, we started repeating the same stories over, and over, and over, when the cell phone owner interrupted saying, “Hey look at this–some guy just made a comment about the clip saying it looked like ‘volunteer’s tactics.” Passing judgment on transitional attacks abruptly halted and we started giving opinions on the on-going animosity between “some” career (aka permanent and paid) firefighters and “some” volunteers. I addressed it once before here. Maybe it’s a topic to address again.

If you’re interested in the pros and cons of transitional attacks, I used my computer’s search engine thingy and typed in “transitional fire attack.” There were more than two dozen links to sites and blogs with commentary on the topic from most all of the trade journals and from volunteer as well as career firefighters. Opinions vary–worth reading.

Button Pushers

Talking about opinions, I was jawboning via email with a young guy I’ve known for quite a while. He’s from out of town—a former volunteer not old enough yet to collect social security but well versed in the fire service. He sounded just like a raisin. I told him I’ll call him a junior raisin or a semi-raisin–seasoned, somewhat wrinkled but not dried out enough to be a real one.

I think we were talking about fixing our own fire trucks in the fire stat

E3 CONNECT combines traditional rescue tool functionality with modernization of WiFi

IDEX Fire & Safety’s proprietary Captium™ Cloud works with E3 CONNECT to help departments track maintenance and avoid tool downtime

Shelby, N.C. (June 21, 2022) – Leveraging a history of innovation and the connectivity of WiFi, HURST Jaws of Life® is launching E3 CONNECT, an evolution of its eDRAULIC® 3.0 line that adds automated performance alerts and centralized reports to help departments manage and optimize rescue tool readiness.

“E3 CONNECT brings firefighters the speed, power and performance they’ve come to expect from HURST Jaws of Life extrication tools, plus helps fire departments avoid tool downtime,” said Britt Hawkins, marketing manager for HURST Jaws of Life. “Tool use documentation is automatic with E3 CONNECT, reducing manual data entry, inspection time and potential downtime so rescue crews can be ready any time.”

HURST Jaws of Life, part of IDEX Fire & Safety, integrates E3 CONNECT with IDEX Fire & Safety’s Captium™ Cloud, a smart vehicle platform, to detect, record and report on tool performance and potential issues. Information on such events as roll warnings, submersion (fresh and saltwater), tool drops, and battery condition are captured and reported to the department. E3 CONNECT allows the tool user to more easily comply with new NFPA requirements for reporting and maintenance tracking through the Captium pre-recommended inspection checklist; it informs users of upcoming preventative maintenance schedules, assists in requesting service appointments with HURST Jaws of Life service partners, and provides a centralized location for documentation of the maintenance service performed.

E3 CONNECT builds on the 2021 launch of eDRAULIC 3.0, which features a smart tool dashboard that provides the tool operator with live, visual and easy-to-see tool feedback in three key areas: roll warnings, which assist the operator with cutter positioning; power level indicator, which alerts the user to real-time power level, so they can reposition the tool for another cut; and a battery charge status indicator, ensuring the operator is aware of runtime in real time. E3 tools also offer more power than their predecessors through a user-controlled turbo function and a new, saltwater compatibility. The 2019 launch of the HURST Jaws of Life eDRAULIC Watertight Extrication Tool (EWXT) line were the first battery-powered tools completely operational when submerged in fresh water.

HURST Jaws of Life introduced the industry’s first rescue tool in the 1970s and revolutionized the industry again in 2010 with the first battery-powered rescue tool line. E3 CONNECT continues the company’s tradition of innovation.

“In 1972, HURST Jaws of Life brought the industry the first extrication tool, and we’re proud that we’ve continued to elevate the rescue tool industry ever since,” Hawkins said. “It’s a testament to our spirit of innovation that in our 50th anniversary year we’re bringing first responders another first, and another solution, that helps ensure they’re ready to make the rescue at the scene.”

To learn more about E3 CONNECT, visit jawsoflife.com. For more information on IDEX Fire & Safety’s Captium Cloud, visit captiumconnect.com.

About HURST Jaws of Life

HURST is the only manufacturer of the Jaws of Life^® brand. There is no equal to saving lives. The company’s commitment to research and development and dedication to quality engineering and manufacturing has resulted in a line of innovative pro

The San Jose Fire Department recently showed off its new Station 37 to the public.

Station 37 officially opened on May 10 and serves the south area of the Willow Glen community and the north area of the Cambrian community, the city’s website says.

The new facility is an 8,100-square-foot, two-story station that contains two apparatus bays, separate crew and captain’s offices, an open kitchen, dining and living room plan, exercise room, and five two-bed capacity dormitories with private restrooms.

The building was designed for energy savings with numerous occupancy sensors. It is the second facility in the City of San José that was designed and built adopting the City’s new standards of Zero Net Carbon (ZNC). This new building eliminates the use of natural gas, and all heating and cooling systems as well as the water heater and stove are energy efficient electric appliances.

Besides the ZNC, this facility has 82 Photovoltaic Panels, over the roof and the parking structure, generating a total of 25kW in solar power. The exterior architecture enriches the area and the red tower and four-fold apparatus bay doors signify the presence of the Fire Station to the community.

Fire Station 37 was built using Disaster Preparedness, Public Safety, and Infrastructure Bond (Measure T) funds approved by voters in 2018. The building was designed by IBI-Group Architects, and their subconsultants. It was constructed by Gonsalves & Stronck Construction Company as the General Contractor. The project was completed on schedule and within the approved $8.8 million budget.