CompanyAssociationNews
- SEAGRAVE FIRE APPARATUS, LLC announced Caterpillar will become its standard engine. Cummins engines will be offered as an option in all models. The company chose Caterpillar and Cummins engines because a review showed the technology, design, and product range provides significant advantages to its customers. Engine technology has changed dramatically as a result of new product development and advances made to meet 2004 emissions standards and future environmental regulations. These newly developed engines are smaller, are more compact, weigh less, and are more fuel efficient than engines traditionally used by the fire service.
Seagrave will offer the following engines on the following truck models: Flame: Standard Caterpillar C7; optional Caterpillar C9, Cummins ISL; Commander II: Standard Detroit Diesel Series 60 until Caterpillar and Cummins are certified within the next 18 months. Marauder: Detroit Diesel Series 60 will be standard until Caterpillar and Cummins are certified within the next 18 months.
The company’s new chassis currently under development for launch in the spring will come standard with the Caterpillar C9; the Caterpillar C11 and C13 and Cummins ISM will be available as options.
Seagrave selected Caterpillar as its standard engine on current and all future models because of its broad product range; availability with various commercial chassis; common electronic controls, allowing interfacing and integration with pump control and aerial devices; modern design; and service coverage.
The Cummins ISL 9-liter, 300- to 400-hp and ISM 11-liter, 340- to 500-hp engine will be available for all Seagrave models. Special 450- and 500-horsepower ratings exclusively for fire apparatus vehicles will be offered.
- The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR SEARCH AND RESCUE’s Swiftwater Rescue Committee seeks nominations for the 2004 Higgins and Langley Memorial Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Swiftwater Rescue. The awards recognize outstanding achievement in swiftwater-flood rescue. In addition to individual incidents and acts of heroism, swiftwater-flood rescue team efforts, those who have dedicated years of service to developing and implementing swiftwater-flood rescue training programs, and public safety media education efforts will be considered.
Nomination forms can be downloaded at http://www.cfspress.com/hlawards.htm. The deadline for submissions is March 20, 2004. For more information, contact Paul McMinn, chairman, Higgins and Langley Awards Committee, c/o South Bend Recreation Department, 321 E. Walter St., South Bend, IN 46614, or call (219) 299-4765.
- The CALIFORNIA FIRE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION (CFCA) has moved. The new address is California Fire Chiefs Association, 15 Mission Olive Ct., Oroville, CA 94966. Telephone: (530) 589-4692. Fax: (530) 589-4694. E-mail: calchiefs@msn.com.
The CFCA and the Oregon Fire Chiefs have combined to form a single bookstore to service California, Oregon, and the surrounding states, called the Nation Fire Service Bookstore (formerly the Cal Chiefs Bookstore). The new address is the Nation Fire Service Bookstore, 727 Center Street N.E., Salem, OR 97301. Telephone: (800) 733-2314. Fax: (503) 365-7893. The profits from all sales in California will continue to go to the California fire service.
- Apparatus manufacturer CRIMSON FIRE has appointed James Moe vice president of sales. Previously, Moe spent 13 years with Johnson Controls, most recently as general manager. He has extensive experience with complex, large-dollar sales contracts sold to municipalities, government agencies, and public and private businesses.
- The FIRE AND EMERGENCY MANUFACTURERS AND SERVICES ASSOCIATION (FEMSA), a fire service industry trade association, awarded Illinois Congressman Jerry Weller the inaugural FEMSA Fire Service Excellence Award. Weller was a chief cosponsor of the FIRE Act grant program, which provides a 90-10 federal monetary match for fire departments to offer training and purchase equipment. Weller was also recognized for his voting record in favor of U.S. manufacturing, his participation in the Congressional Fire Caucus, and his commitment to the fire service.
- The Second Annual BurnAid Golf Classic, sponsored by the ST. LOUIS FIRE SPRINKLER ALLIANCE and SPRINKLER FITTERS LOCAL NO. 268, raised $18,000 for the Missouri Children’s Burn Camp. In addition, Sprinkler Fitters Local No. 268 donated an additional $25,000. Proceeds will be used to cover expenses of young burn victims attending summer camp. The St. Louis Fire Sprinkler Alliance is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating the public that fire sprinkler systems save lives and property.
- SANZ announced that a multiagency effort led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Denver, Colorado, has successfully implemented the EarthWhereTM Spatial Data Provisioning Application from SANZ to provide timely mapping data to help combat the wildland fires burning throughout Southern California.
The Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination Group (GeoMAC) is an Internet-based mapping tool designed to allow fire managers to access online maps of current fire locations and perimeters in the conterminous 48 states and Alaska. Using a standard Web browser, fire personnel can download this information to pinpoint the affected areas. SANZ EarthWhere has been integrated into GeoMAC to allow first responders and planners to quickly download accurate maps and imagery of fire-affected areas.
GeoMAC was created in 2000 when wildland fires affected much of the western United States. As the sole science agency for the Department of the Interior (DOI), the USGS plays a pivotal role by hosting and maintaining GeoMAC. Data and other vital incident information come from the DOI fire management agencies—the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the U.S. Forest Service.
EarthWhere quickly ingests data into the system and rapidly make this information available online. Using the fire data ordering capabilities of the site, GeoMAC then delivers high-resolution imagery, maps, and specialized datasets within hours of the actual event.
Using EarthWhere in the production of digital fire support products enables the immediate delivery of the exact data needed to the field to fight fires, said Jeff Sloan, a USGS cartographer. With EarthWhere, what used to take hours or days is now available within minutes, enabling the team to fight fires more effectively, therefore saving natural resources, property, and lives.
