Riley County (KS) Fire District No. 1 posted the following news release on its Facebook page Thursday:

“Say hello to Brush Truck #115! This (new to us) brush truck is now in service at Station #115 Konza Valley. Brush #115 will respond immediately to brush fires and vehicle fires in the area around HWY 177 and I-70 and aid anywhere in the county as needed. It replaces a 1969, 5-ton military truck. The new truck has 4-wheel drive, carries 750 gallons of water, and is an excellent addition to the fleet!

“It’s also important to note this truck represents a major cost savings for the department. B115 was purchased used, and Deputy Chief of Operations Doug Russell worked with several other staff and volunteer department members to complete assembly of the fire fighting components such as the water tank, fire pump, hose reels, front automatic nozzle and all associated plumbing, wiring, emergency and scene lights. Purchased new from a dealer, this piece of equipment would have cost in excess of $200,000! By doing the work ourselves, we spent less than $55,000 for an important firefighting apparatus. We want to say thanks for the hard work! Well done to Doug Russell and crew!”

The Last Resort Fire Department Museum at Seattle Fire Department Headquarters houses a collection of rare and antique fire apparatus from the city’s past.

Second generation retired firefighter Galen Thomaier curates the collection of antique fire apparatus that he started with his dad.

The museum itself resides in the Seattle fire headquarters and is a labor of love. Thomaier gave King 5 a tour.

By Alan M. Petrillo

Rosenbauer has developed a new chassis, the General, as a custom-built chassis alternative to commercial chassis, adding to its two other custom chassis versions, the Commander and the Warrior.

Mark Fusco, president of Rosenbauer America, says that Rosenbauer saw a need for a more economically priced custom chassis for its military customers, as well as for those municipal fire departments that don’t require many of the features and options found on its other custom chassis. “With the global supply chain issues affecting all manufacturers, we were seeing deliveries of commercial chassis out to two years or more,” Fusco points out. “We did our market research and interviewed customers to determine their applications, and got the inspiration from them to design the General as a commercial chassis alternative.”

Fusco notes that a custom fire chassis has a much tighter turning radius and shorter wheelbase than a typical commercial chassis, and that Rosenbauer is able to build the General chassis in 10 months or less, compared to waiting 24 to 36 months for delivery of a commercial chassis. “We are currently building stock trucks on General chassis for fire departments that have an immediate need,” he says. “The chassis is available immediately, and we already have sold 30 of them.”

A Rosenbauer drawing of its new General chassis and cab (PDF). (Photo courtesy of Rosenbauer)

The General chassis is not lacking in quality finishes, Fusco maintains. “We have not sacrificed quality, but have built in the same quality as on our other chassis,” he says. “Options include hot-dipped galvanized frame rails, which are not available on commercial chassis, built-in EMS (emergency medical services compartments), and a variety of custom front bumper options with their typical equipment complement, up to a 24-inch extended bumper.”

Fusco notes that customers can get a General with a 33-inch two-door cab that’s useful in fire truck applications powered by either a 380-horsepower (hp) or 450-hp Cummins L9 diesel engine. “We see it being used on a single rear axle pumper, and on single and tandem rear axle tankers,” he observes. “The General is available in 33-inch flat roof, 60-inch flat roof four-door, and 60-inch 11-inch raised roof four-door versions. The four door versions can seat either six firefighters in the cab, or four firefighters and two EMS cabinets.”

The new General chassis has a flat grill, Fusco says, can carry Rosenbauer, Waterous, Hale Products or W.S. Darley & Company pumps, and up to 1,000 gallons of water and 20 gallons of foam on a single rear axle. “The General chassis has a doghouse mounted HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) system,” Fusco adds, “and carries a Whelen LED warning lighting package.”

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ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Ariz.-based journalist, the author of three novels and five non-fiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment editorial advisory board. He served 22 years with Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including the position of chief.

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The Manhattan Mercury, Kan.
(TNS)

Feb. 24—Officials with Riley County Fire District No. 1 will solicit bids in the coming weeks for the construction of two rural fire stations.

Riley County commissioners approved the measure during their meeting Thursday. Riley County emergency management director and Fire District #1 chief Russel Stukey said fire officials wanted to start seeking bids for the two fire stations before the arrival of spring.

One of the fire stations is located in the Ashland Bottoms area, along McDowell Creek Road and Konza Prairie Lane south of Manhattan in Riley County. The second fire station will be in the University Park area along Lakeview Drive and Hi-View Drive at the west side of Tuttle Creek Lake.

Stukey said he did not have any cost estimates for the projects, as that information will be determined by the bids fire officials receive next month. Stukey said officials with Fire District #1 have been saving money in their capital outlay fund to pay for these projects.

Stukey said the Ashland Bottoms station would likely be the first to be replaced. Both fire stations will be 40-foot by 50-foot buildings. Stukey presented options for bids to be sought from contractors to erect either two pre-engineered metal structures, two pole-frame buildings, or a combination of both. Commissioners approved that plan in order to keep costs down. Riley County clerk Rich Vargo said prices of construction materials and labor are “up in the air” currently, so approving a bid process that allows for a more flexible building approach was important.

Stukey said these projects were on the county’s backburner since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.

Fire officials and county commissioners have talked in the past about renovating rural RCFD fire stations. Stukey said the two fire stations will replace deteriorating buildings that were originally built in the 1960s.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SPECIALIST POSITION

In other business, county commissioners approved allowing county planning director Amanda Webb and human resources to fill the environmental health specialist job when current specialist Perry Piper leaves the position March 13.

The county environmental health specialist’s duties include inspecting, permitting and monitoring private wastewater systems and wells, water testing, and assisting the public with any questions about environmental health issues.

The environmental health specialist also assists the county health officer and emergency management officials when needed.

The environmental health specialist’s annual salary will be $63,460. The job listing can be found on the Riley County website.

GIS CONFERENCE

Additionally, the board voted in favor of allowing two Riley County IT/GIS staffers to attend the National ESRi User Conference in San Diego July 10-14. Agenda documents indicate that it’s been several years since any Riley County employee attended the conference. County commissioners approved sending two employees to the conference for $4,500 total, including airfare, lodging, meals and transportation.

According to agenda documents, the ESRi User Conference sees more than 19,000 attendees each year, to learn more about some of the tools available to them for geographic information system (GIS) mapping and analysis.

The next Riley County Commission meeting is Monday at 8:30 a.m.

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