On the second anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy, SEAGRAVE FIRE APPARTUS and its 360 employees donated a new Commander II rescue pumper to the Fire Department of New York. Employee-led fundraising efforts and vendor donations made the fire truck donation possible. About 10 percent of Seagrave’s Clintonville, Wisconsin, employees are firefighters and EMTs. More than 50 Seagrave FDNY apparatus were destroyed in the 9-11 disaster. The company built 54 replacement trucks for New York, each with a commemorative medallion on the front of the cab to honor the fallen.
The Commander II rescue pumper has a 500-horsepower Detroit Diesel engine, a 500-gallon water tank, and a Waterous 1,500-gpm pump and features a dramatic eagle graphic across the entire body with the words “Never Forget.” It will go into service with Squad 61.
Seagrave named Brian K. Thompson manager of sales and marketing for Seagrave Fire Company/Canada, its subsidiary. He will report to Dwight McMillan, general manager of Seagrave Fire Company/Canada, and will work out of the Carleton Place, Ontario, office.
UNDERWRITERS LABORATORIES (UL) now provides testing to California’s new Open-Flame Mattress Standard, TB 603. TB 603 was developed by the California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation to decrease the number of fire deaths in the home. It requires mattresses sold in the state to meet specific flammability requirements. The standard becomes law in January 2004, giving mattress manufacturers until January 2005 to comply before the law will be enforced. UL is one of only six testing laboratories in the country capable of conducting fire testing for the TB 603 standard.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, residential mattress fires represent one of the greatest causes of fire deaths in homes in the United States. Small open-flame ignition sources, many of which involve children playing with matches and cigarette lighters, cause about one-fifth of those fires. Data also indicates that annual fire losses in the United States associated with mattress and bedding products total 510 deaths, 2,290 injuries, and $280.4 million in property damage.
Prior to the establishment of TB 603, bedding flammability laws in the United States only addressed the smolder resistance of mattresses, futons, and mattress pads but not their open-flame resistance. TB 603 applies to all mattresses and box springs, including futons, hybrid flotation and airbed ensembles, sofa sleepers, cribs, bunk beds, rollaways, and hideabeds. For more technical information on fire testing and certification, contact Bob Backstrom at UL at (847) 664-2250 or by e-mail at Robert.G.Backstrom@us.ul.com.
SPIRALOCK CORPORATION, designer and manufacturer of a self-locking thread form technology, helped fire apparatus manufacturer PIERCE MANUFACTURING, INC. (subsidiary of Oshkosh Truck Corporation) find a fastening solution. When loosening striker bolts on fire truck doors caused rattling problems, Pierce engineers tested a series of standard locking nuts without satisfactory results until it discovered the Spiralock self-locking thread form technology. An Oshkosh Truck engineer recommended testing a Spiralock nut on the door striker bolts, and the loosening problem was solved.
Spiralock’s thread form is a 30º wedge ramp cut at the root of the female thread. Under clamp load, the crests of the threads on any standard bolt are drawn tightly against the wedge ramp. This causes thread contact forces to be applied at approximately 60º from the bolt axis, rather than 30º away as in a standard thread form. The mechanical advantage, the angular relationship between the wedge ramp and the male thread, restricts bolt or screw movement.
A Spiralock benefit over conventional locking methods is that the male fastener can be loosened and retightened as many times as necessary without any loss in locking force, thus reducing maintenance costs. The thread form works with standard male fasteners and eliminates the need for add-on locking components such as lock washers, thread adhesives, or crimping or inserts. The 30º wedge ramp cut at the root of the female thread also eliminates common stripping or shearing problems because the design distributes the clamp load much more evenly over the threads, which improves safety.
Switching to a Spiralock nut allowed Pierce to eliminate a weld-on cage nut on fire truck door latches. Spiralock engineers designed a custom nut that prevented slippage during assembly.
Glendale, California, has chosen the ACCELA, INC. ERS™ EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM to prepare the city for future emergency situations. The Accela ERS combines Accela GIS™, Accela Wireless™, and the FEMA Standard ATC-20 Damage Assessment Form. This enables inspectors to perform routine tasks on a daily basis and can be activated to aid in recovery services during disaster situations.
The city is near several major fault lines in southern California. The area has historically been victim to shocks, resulting in numerous fatalities and billions of dollars in structural damage.
With the Accela ERS, using handheld computers and a wireless network, the building and safety department can assess damage and relay the information in real time to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The EOC then declares a disaster and processes requests for assistance. Using Accela allows agencies to complete the surveys and reports needed much faster than previously.
The ability to instantaneously report damage from the field provides a more accurate assessment of the damage and activates response services more rapidly than traditional manual systems. By knowing precisely where the damage is located and its severity, indicated by green, yellow, or red tags, city officials can better protect the public and dispatch resources to the areas with the most need.
Assessments that once took weeks to be completed can now be completed in days. The 1994 Northridge earthquake caused $20 billion damage and 57 deaths and took months to assess, delaying recovery efforts for citizens and the city. In addition to the accelerated assessment and recovery, the entire process can be tracked until it is fully resolved. The system can assist with any type of disaster, including tornadoes, hurricanes, ice storms, and even wildfires.
MDG FOG GENERATORS named Martin Michaud president following the retirement of Marc Gringras. Michaud retains his duties as vice president of sales and marketing. Jacques Foisy, chief accountant of MDG, was named vice president of finance. Marcel Larivière was named vice president of production.
Brian Elskamp has joined FIRE FACILITIES as product engineer. He will design the structural steel and foundation for the fire training building product lines; prepare proposals that include drawings, pricing, and specifications; and be responsible for the creation of listings, stamped plans, and erection drawings and manuals.
AMKUS, INC., manufacturer of AMKUS Rescue Systems, named Chuck Sheaffer sales manager. He will directly oversee the dealer network covering the northeastern United States including Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia. Sheaffer will also provide support and guidance to the AMKUS dealer network across the United States and Canada. Previously, he has been the general manager for Fire and Rescue Products, a key AMKUS distributor.
AMKUS Rescue Systems has been named the Rescue System Supplier for NASCAR through the 2005 racing season. AMKUS equipment will be present at NASCAR events including the Winston Cup Series, the Busch Series, the Craftsman Truck Series, and Touring Series events. AMKUS was also named the Official Rescue System of the 12 International Speedway Corporation racetracks through the 2005 racing season.
NEW FDIC EAST SHOW IN ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY OCTOBER 26-30, 2004
PennWell Corporation, the parent company of the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC), FDIC West, and Fire Engineering and fireEMS magazines, announced the launch of its new show, FDIC East, which will take place October 26-30, 2004, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. FDIC East will be produced in cooperation with the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey (PFANJ), which will promote a coalition of 15 state International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) associations from the eastern region to support the event. For more information, call (973) 251-5040.
