APPARATUS DELIVERIES
The Ponderosa Volunteer Fire Department in Houston, Texas, accepted delivery of this Pierce heavy rescue unit in May 1986. It replaces a 1977 equipment truck that was moved to Station 2.
The truck serves multiple purposes, says Chief Fred Windisch. It can be set up as a command post; it can be used for intermediate hazardous-materials handling; and it has compartments that hold cribbing and shoring equipment, air bags, chemical resource books, and rappelling equipment. At some incidents, the truck is also used as a support vehicle to the department’s ladder truck. “It’s a rolling toolbox,” says Chief Windisch.
The department covers a 13-square-mile, urban/suburban area with a population of 35,000 people. This combination unit is essential because the district is too small for the department to have a separate apparatus for each function.
The truck is built on a Pierce chassis. It has a Detroit Diesel 6V92TA engine and Allison MT743 automatic transmission. It can seat 3 people in the front, 2 people in the jump seats, and 10 people in the rear.
The department also operates three pumpers, one 95-toot ladder truck, and one equipment truck.
Circle No. 76 on Reader Service Card
King County District 37 in Kent, Wash., accepted delivery of this 1,500-gpm Pierce tanker pumper. The apparatus was put into service at Station 72 in January. It replaces a 1965 750-gpm pumper.
The truck’s preplumbed waterway feeds a large-caliber nozzle mounted on top of the apparatus. It can deliver a large amount of water with a minimum amount of manpower, savs Assistant Chief Bill Lahore.
The truck also has a top-mount pump panel that has been effective so far, says Chief Lahore, because it allows the firefighters to operate from a safer position and be able to see all sides of the unit.
The truck has an Allison HT740 automatic transmission, an 8V92TA Detroit Diesel engine, and a 1,500-gallon water tank. It’s built on a Pierce Lance chassis and seats five firefighters.
Circle No. 80 on Reader Service Card
Station 15 of the Metro Sarasota (Fla.) Fire Department accepted delivery of this Emergency One hazardous-materials truck in March. It’s the department’s first haz-mat response unit built specifically for that purpose.
The department’s specially trained haz-mat team is assigned to the truck. It responds to all incidents in the district that involve leaking chemicals, gasoline, propane, and so on, says Deputy Chief John Albritton. Last year there were about 300 such incidents in the area covered by the Metro Sarasota Fire Department.
In addition to carrying leak-stopping equipment, the truck contains a full reference library on chemicals. The department hopes to computerize the reference material in the future, and a computer will be installed on board the apparatus.
The truck is built on a Ford C-8000 chassis. It has a Caterpillar 3208 turbo engine and an Allison MT643 automatic transmission. The apparatus can seat three people in the cab and six in the back box area, but usually only one or two team members respond to a call until it can be determined if additional help is needed.
The department also operates nine pumpers, which range in capacity from 1,000 to 1,250 gpm; two reserve pumpers; two ladder trucks; and seven rescue vehicles.
Circle No. 70 on Reader Service Card
This 1,000-gpm 4-Guys Inc. pumper/tanker was put into service in October 1986 at Co. 29 of the Bernville (Pa.) Fire Department. It replaces a 1968 750-gpm pumper.
The company covers a four-square-mile rural area and responds mostly to house, brush, and trailer fires. So far, the pumper has been effective in supplying instant water and attack lines to fight these fires, says Chief James O. Moyer, Sr.
The pumper tanker has a Detroit Diesel 8V92TA engine, an Allison HT740 automatic transmission, and a 1,800-gallon water tank. It can seat five people—three in the front and two in the jump seat.
The company also operates one 750-gpm pumper, one brush truck, and one emergency van.
Circle No. 75 on Reader Service Card
