APPARATUS DELIVERIES
This 3-D Fire Apparatus unit, delivered to the Union Fire Co. of Cornwells Heights, Pa., in April 1987, pumped continuously for 17 hours at a lumber storage yard fire set by an arsonist.
Although the August fire ultimately caused $1.5 million of damage, firefighters were able to contain it to the area where it started, and limited damage to an interior section to $200,000.
The Union Fire Co.’s fire district is heavily industrial, with—in addition to the lumber storage yard—plastic manufacturers, steel handlers, offices, the General Motors East Coast warehouse, and overnight transportation facilities. Its residential population is relatively small, with about 1,100 homes.
It’s because of the fire district’s composition, says Chief William Palmer, that the truck was designed especially for industrial use. The unit, built on a Spartan Gladiator chassis, has 5-inch front suction, three 3-inch discharges on each side of the truck, and seven handlines.
preconnected handlines. The unit has a 100-gallon foam tank that can produce 1,400 gallons of foam per minute at a three percent mixture for hydrocarbon fires, and 700 gallons of foam per minute at a six percent mixture for fluorocarbon fires.
Circle No. 81 on Reader Service Card
Photo by Allen Holtman
Destin, Fla., is moving up—literally.
Although most of the buildings there are one or two stories tall, the town, on Florida’s western waterfront, has seen a modest building boom recently. About 20 buildings have been built in the past three years that average 18 to 24 stories high.
To keep up with the construction, the Destin Fire Department expanded its aerial service by purchasing this aerial truck built by Pierce Manufacturing.
The unit, which was received in May 1987, has a steel, 95-foot ladder with a 4-inch water pipe leading to the platform. An Akron 1,000-gpm automatic electric nozzle can be operated from either the turntable or above. It has a 1,500-gpm pump and can carry 200 gallons of water.
Circle No. 83 on Reader Service Card
The town of Double Springs, Ala., is doubly blessed: It doesn’t have many house fires—maybe two or three each year—and there are always people willing to volunteer.
”We don’t have a lot of fires,” says Assistant Chief Mike Gilbreath. “People are pretty conscientious about that around here.”
Although it doesn’t get as many calls as larger towns, the Double Springs Fire Department has a big-city mentality about keeping its equipment current. It received a Grumman Wildcat in May 1987. A feature the department particularly likes, Gilbreath says, is the unit’s mid-mounted pump.
The unit has a two-stage, 1,000-gpm Waterous pump and a 1,000gallon galvinized booster tank. It’s built on a 1987 GMC chassis. In addition to basic equipment, the department ordered an Akron deck gun, chrome wheel covers, and a 10-foot mounted pike pole.
The volunteer department has 15 members, but the number doesn’t faze Gilbreath.
“If we need help, we can get it,” he says.
Circle No. 82 on Reader Service Card
When the Cincinnatus (N.Y.) Fire Department took delivery of an Emergency One pumper/tanker last February, it received some badly needed additional water-carrying capability.
The department, which serves 10 small towns, had been using a 1952 pumper that simply was too antiquated. That pumper carried only 500 gallons of water, says Derek Raimo, the department’s public relations officer, and when it needed new parts, they were virtually impossible to find.
The Emergency One unit, mounted on a Chevrolet Kodiak chassis, carries three times as much water and can pump twice the volume as the one it replaced. It’s used as a pumper and a tanker because the Cincinnatus area is rural and lacks street hydrants.
The unit has an aluminum, all-welded 1,500 gallon tank with a 1,000 gpm Hale single-stage pump. Unlike the 1952 pumper, it has automatic transmission, increasing the number of people able to drive it.
Circle No. 80 on Reader Service Card
