SPEC FOR SAFTEY
BY WILLIAM F. ADAMS
The Lake Shore Fire District in suburban Rochester, New York, encompasses an area one mile wide by eight miles long along the shore of Lake Ontario. Four career and 60 volunteers operate out of three stations with four engines, a heavy rescue, a water rescue vehicle towing a rigid-hulled Zodiac boat, and two EMS squads. The area is primarily residential with scattered commercial businesses and a large influx of summer recreational traffic.
Although ambulance service is not provided, 65 percent of the 900 alarms per year are EMS-related. The tremendous demand for EMS service coupled with limited weekday personnel led the district to provide a career EMT-firefighter from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. We immediately realized the benefits of an immediate response to medical emergencies and increased career coverage to 24 hours a day. The career driver in the centrally located station responds immediately to all fire and EMS alarms with a Class A engine. Depending on the nature of the call, volunteers either staff the remaining apparatus on the assignment or respond directly to the scene. Because of the long narrow shape of the district and numerous back-to-back calls, the engine with the career driver may or may not be the first apparatus on the scene.
When planning to replace an engine, the fire district charged the Truck Committee with specifying an apparatus for the express use of the on-duty firefighter. Safety and ease of operation were prime concerns, especially with limited personnel. Any design that required a firefighter to climb up onto the apparatus to reach a primary piece of equipment was unacceptable.
FEATURES SPECIFIED
Although the majority of responses would be EMS-related, the apparatus was to meet all National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Insurance Services Office (ISO) criteria for a Class A engine. Equipment was to be readily accessible and easily removed. The Truck Committee developed a list of operational and safety features desired prior to meeting with vendors. Some of the items on the list and the reasoning behind the requests (not necessarily in order of importance) are given below:
Due to narrow access roads to lakeside property and congested roads in apartment complexes, the maximum overall length was to be 25 feet with a preferred wheelbase of 160 inches.
For safety reasons, the pump operator`s panel was to have no suction inlets or discharges or any preconnects that could be pulled over the operator`s head.
All equipment, including ladders and suction hose, was to be fully enclosed to protect from the ice, snow, and slush common to the area.
The operator`s panel and pump compartment was to be fully enclosed and heated; the engine could be sitting for long periods during EMS responses.
Rollup doors were specified to keep them and personnel out of harm`s way in traffic lanes.
For ease in removing attack lines, no preconnected hoseline could be more than 72 inches from ground level.
Discharges and suction inlets were to be located at the front or rear to keep hoselines out of traffic lanes.
The main hosebed was to have a full-length walkway for ease in reloading.
For safety reasons, all accessory equipment, including suction hose and ladders, was to be reachable from ground level.
A preconnected large, soft suction was specified for quick deployment by the pump operator alone.
Because the apparatus would seldom respond with more than the on-duty EMT-firefighter, a two-person cab and chassis were specified.
The minimum pump size was to be 1,250 gallons per minute, and the minimum acceptable tank size would be 500 gallons.
The safety and operational criteria established the ground rules for dealing with apparatus manufacturers` representatives. After meeting with many vendors and determining what each could accomplish, additional items were added to the list, including hose-load configuration, compartmentation requirements, and lighting. We developed a fully generic specification emphasizing performance and design instead of the features of a particular brand. Both the Truck Committee and fire district felt it was in their best interests to allow manufacturers the flexibility in design to engineer an apparatus to meet the district`s specific needs.
The specifications were presented for public bid, and the successful manufacturer proposed a split-shaft-driven, rear-mounted fire pump with the pump operator`s panel located on the left side behind the rear wheels. After awarding the contract, the Truck Committee worked closely with the manufacturer throughout the entire building process. The result of both preconstruction meetings and numerous factory inspection trips was a highly maneuverable cost-effective apparatus that fully met the fire district`s expectations.
FEATURES OF DELIVERED APPARATUS
When originally put into service, 1,400 feet of three-inch double-jacketed supply line was carried in a split bed that had a capacity of 2,000 feet. Recently, the unit was equipped with large-diameter hose; by removing one divider, the bed easily accommodated 1,500 feet of five-inch hose. A walkway is next to the main bed, and the hydrant makeup is located on the rear step at knee level.
Six discharges are preconnected at the rear of the apparatus. If the unit pumps as a supply pumper, the operator merely disconnects a hose instead of removing a cap. Two 200-foot-long preconnects, one 134 inches and one 212 inches, are packed in a single-stack flat load. A 200-foot-long preconnected three-inch line with a leader line wye is also packed single stack. Each “tier” in the bed can carry 500 feet of hose; spare hose is stored “short-stacked” ahead of the preconnects.
Two additional preconnects, 134- and 212-inch, are packed flat, two tiers wide, in a traditional “pull `n dump” load. These beds are the same length as a crosslay, about seven feet long; and the area in front of them is also used for extra storage. A hinged treadplate cover over these two preconnects forms the flooring for the walkway. A 100-foot-long, 134-inch trash line is located immediately next to the walkway should the driver be by himself on a nuisance call and have to repack it alone.
Roof and extension ladders slide in the rear of the apparatus just above the rear wheel height and can be removed individually by a single firefighter. Above the ladders are pike poles, a collapsible ladder, and lightweight PVC suction sleeves that are 14 feet long instead of the standard 10 feet. All equipment is protected from the elements and easy for one person to remove.
The preconnected deluge set is located at the left rear, accessible to the pump operator from the rear access steps or the walkway. There are three pump panel-controlled rear inlets; two are 212 inches and have quick connectors. The other is six inches with an electrically controlled valve. The electric valve was chosen because it can be “feathered,” whereas an air-operated valve is either ON or OFF with no control of speed or flow. Twenty feet of preconnected five-inch soft-suction is carried in a closed compartment above the tailboard. The 20-foot piece has Storz couplings and a removable Storz by 412-inch NST hydrant connection. This enables the same length of hose to be used for a big fire hookup or as a filler piece, if needed, when making a forward lay with the LDH.
Three large equipment compartments are located on each side, with more than 200 cubic feet of usable space. Each over-the-wheel well compartment has two SCBAs with accompanying hand lanterns and “married” flathead axes and halligan bars. The irons sit in shallow open-topped PVC boxes to enable a firefighter to “snatch `n grab” them without unclipping, unhooking, or releasing anything. The intent is to make quick and easy access to interior tools and equipment on either side of the apparatus for personnel who need the apparatus at the scene or are late arriving.
The large compartment immediately behind the driver`s seat holds his turnout gear and the much-used EMS gear. The large compartment behind the passenger`s seat has a slide-out tray for heavy bulky items. The pump panel with accompanying adapters and fittings is located on the driver`s side of the apparatus, behind the rear wheels. Extinguishers, spare SCBA bottles, and the float dock strainer are carried on the right side, behind the rear wheels.
All preconnected hose is either fully color-coded or a three-inch-long piece of color-coded hose is provided on the discharge to match the pump panel tag and nozzle. Labels specify only the color and discharge number to allow flexibility in changing hose sizes and hosebed layout in the future.
By working closely with the vendor and having him understand the full intent of the “make it safe and easy” mandate of the fire district, many features that would make life easier on the fireground were incorporated into the apparatus. Three halogen scene lights on the rear are wired into the backup light circuit so they activate when the truck is placed in reverse. A rear scene light switch on the pump panel manually activates the scene lights and backup lights for night operations. In addition, underbody scene lighting and an inverter with telescoping quartz floodlights are provided.
Half-sized light bars on each side at the rear have two rotating warning lights. Each bar has two exterior side-facing clear stationary halogen lights controlled by respective left and right scene light switches in the cab. Each bar also has two interior-facing clear stationary halogen lights. One switch on the pump panel labeled “hosebed lights” controls them plus two additional clear rear-facing halogen lights at the front of the hosebed. One pull, and the entire hosebed is lighted.
An extra set of directional lights is mounted high at the rear to help ensure motorists are not confused or overwhelmed by the warning lights. The rear red warning lights are crisscross railroad-type flashing. The front warning lights on the grille also crisscross in an “X” pattern flash but are red and clear with the red mounted above the headlight level so they are not outshone by the headlights at night. The chassis-supplied swept-back angled bumper was removed and replaced with a “straight bumper,” allowing sufficient room to recess mount the mechanical siren and traffic-clearing light behind the bumper, yet keeping the overall length of the truck to less than 25 feet. Double “hand-hole” cutouts were provided on the vertical and biased ends of the hosebed dividers, and six grab rails are strategically located at the rear. Access steps were made extra wide and have nonslip inserts, as does the rear step.
The apparatus has logged more than 19,000 miles, answering almost 2,000 runs since being delivered. The location of the pump panel at the left rear, accepted by the career and volunteer staffs, allows the pump operator a full view of the fireground and quick access to the “working end” of the truck. Although not recommended by the fire district, it is fully realized that the days when you can afford to park a pump operator in front of the pump panel for the duration of an incident are gone in many career and volunteer fire departments.
The fire district is writing specifications for one of the substations for a similar engine in a six-person custom cab and chassis. Changes anticipated are a six-person custom cab, larger capacity pump, and slightly longer body to accommodate a 35-foot extension ladder. n
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(Top left) What appears to be an innocuous-looking squad truck is actually an NFPA-compliant pumper. (Top right) The operator`s panel is located in the left-side rear compartment. All inlets, discharges, and preconnects are at the rear. (Middle left) Preconnects from left to right are 200 feet three-inch with a gated wye, 200 feet 212-inch, 200 feet 134-inch, 100 feet 134-inch trash line, 200 feet 134-inch, and 200 feet 212-inch. The main hosebed holds 1,500 feet of five-inch LDH. Ladders, pike poles, and hard sleeves are fully enclosed on the right side. (Middle right) Rear step compartment holds 20 feet of five-inch LDH with Storz couplings and a hydrant adaptor preconnected to the six-inch rear inlet. Auxiliary inlets are equipped with spring-loaded quick connectors. The hydrant valve is located on the rear step. (Bottom left) Three large equipment compartments with rollup doors are provided on each side. SCBAs, hand lanterns, and forcible entry tools are located over the rear wheels on each side. (Photos by author.)
WILLIAM F. ADAMS has been a member of the volunteer fire service since 1962 and previously was chief of a volunteer department in East Rochester, New York, where he is still an active member. He has been an independent fire apparatus dealer since 1974 and heads William F. Adams & Associates in Pittsford, New York.
