•ACTION TRAINING SYSTEMS, INC., a U.S. producer and distributor of visual and interactive firefighter training products, is now the worldwide distributor for ESIS (EMERGENCY SERVICES INTERACTIVE SIMULATORS). Action Training Systems is introducing Fire Scene Simulator 5.0, ESIS’s desktop simulation software for structural firefighting, in its catalog and global distribution channels.
•EMERGENCY ONE donated a new rescue vehicle to the Fire Department of New York (FDNY). The 19-foot, nonwalk-in rescue vehicle is designed for emergency response and will operate from Special Operations Command to provide dewatering functions and emergency electricity for lighting. Several other companies, including Freightliner Truck, provided equipment and material contributions for the unit.
•FEDERAL SIGNAL CORPORATION named Harold Pinto president of the Fire Rescue Group (FRG), with worldwide responsibility of all FRG subsidiaries, including Emergency One, Saulsbury, Superior, and Bronto Skylift. He will be based in Ocala, Florida.
•SAULSBURY FIRE RESCUE, INC. selected STEWART & STEVENSON SERVICES, INC. to produce five-ton truck platforms for use in firefighting service. Saulsbury will add firefighting equipment to Stewart & Stevenson’s FMTV chassis, and the trucks will be used for off-road brush firefighting in the rugged environment of south Texas. The contract is valued at approximately $500,000, and deliveries are anticipated to begin late spring 2002.
•GFE MANUFACTURING, INC. named Anthony A. Beeaker Jr. director of sales and marketing. He will work with factory representatives, distributors, and OEMs in the United States and Canada.
•CUMMINS INC. announced that the first of its on-highway engines slated for the October 2002 emission standard has been certified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the 2.5-gram NOx + NMHC standard. The EPA also affirmed the use of auxiliary emissions control devices (AECDs) as submitted by Cummins. AECDs are permitted by law when limited engine protection is necessary under certain operating conditions. AECDs are used in today’s engines throughout the industry and are approved as part of the EPA regulations and certification process.
In 1998, a group of manufacturers of heavy-duty diesel engines, including Cummins, signed a consent decree with the EPA and Department of Justice. At that time, engine manufacturers made a commitment to meet the January 2004, 2.5-gram NOx+NMHC standards by October 2002, as part of a “pull-ahead provision.”
Cummins launched a new Web site designed to provide customers with key information about the Cummins on-highway product line, which will meet the October 2002 emissions standards. The site, www.tougheststandards.cummins.com, features a downloadable video and brochure describing the benefits of cooled exhaust gas recirculation and variable geometry turbocharging and links to the latest articles and news releases describing Cummins progress toward meeting the October 2002 emissions regulation deadline.
•BULLARD appointed Gary Simpson, a certified firefighter and experienced trainer, as an emergency services training specialist for the company’s fire services team. He will focus on providing thermal imaging training for Bullard’s sales force and distributors in the United States. Previously, he was the training and equipment officer for the Manchester (NH) Fire Department.
•ALLISON TRANSMISSION appointed James L. Lanzon director of engineering.
•The SAN MANUEL BAND OF MISSION INDIANS donated 10 Scott Eagle thermal imaging cameras to eight local fire departments and a fire academy serving communities in the San Ber-nardino, California, area.
•The STROUDSBURG (PA) FIRE DEPARTMENT presented a check for $51,716.75 to Jerry Sillcocks of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY). The funds were collected in a local boot drive. A dozen Stroudsburg area residents died in the attack on the World Trade Center in New York.
•JRI, Inc. is sponsoring an ARFF vehicle concept design contest to highlight and encourage the efforts of the International Aviation Fire Protection Association (IAFPA) on behalf of the international aviation fire protection community. (www.iafpa.org.uk). The contest is intended to encourage the advancement of the science by offering a first prize of $1,000 (U.S.) or an economy round-trip ticket to visit the ColetSVD factory in California, where the Colet K/Series airport crash trucks are built.
For details and contest rules, e-mail the IAFPA at IAFPA@aol.com, or JRI at coletsvd@aol.com.
