In June, the U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS unanimously endorsed full funding of $750 million for the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Fire Fighters Grants Program (FIRE Grant) and for maintaining its management by the U.S. Fire Administration at the conference’s annual meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. The resolution reflects the support of the nation’s mayors and will be officially transmitted to all congressional offices, the White House, the President’s Cabinet, the Administration, the nation’s 50 governors, and other interested parties. As a priority in the conference’s lobbying agenda, other organizations and members of Congress can cite the resolution as representing the support of local government for the FIRE grant program. In the past 12 months alone, the FIRE grant program has awarded more than $695 million to more than 8,600 fire departments. FIRE grant reauthorization proposals in Congress (House Bill H.R. 4107 and Senate Bill S. 2411) would provide funding for six years and allow greater participation with greater benefits to medium to large cities in the program.
The U.S. State Department ordered 3,000 HazMat Smart Strips from SAFETY SOLUTIONS, INC. in Boynton Beach, Florida. The Smart-Strip, produced in Wheeling, West Virginia, is a $19 strip of vinyl and paper that changes colors when exposed to nerve gas, cyanide, and other chemicals and detects chlorine, pH, fluoride, nerve agents, oxidizers, arsenic, sulfides, and cyanide in liquid or aerosol form. Emergency responders, branches of the military, consumers, and towns near chemical plants have ordered thousands of strips since its appearance on the market last year. Inventor Mike Reimer is a full-time firefighter and haz-mat technician and is co-owner with John Molenda of Safety Solutions Inc. The Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC) at Wheeling (WV) Jesuit University helped developed and test prototypes and commercialize the product through its Emergency Response Technology (ERT) program. ERT identifies technological solutions using commercial off-the-shelf technologies to meet first responders’ predefined prioritized needs. If existing technology does not meet these needs, ERT works with the various federal laboratories, universities, and private industry to identify emergent solutions developed through research and development projects. The Smart-Strip fulfils the ERT-identified need for a lightweight, simple, and accurate indicator chemical detector. More information is online at www.smart-strip.com.
LDV, INC. delivered a new Mobile Command Center to the Fire Department of New York (FDNY). The sixth LDV special service vehicle delivered to the department, it was funded in large part by the Dennis Leary Foundation. The unit’s features include a JPS ACU-1000 radio interoperability system, one external and one internal 40-inch LCD monitor, an audio/video router capable of up to 64 inputs and 64 outputs, a 16-channel digital video recorder, four exterior surveillance cameras, a 42-foot pneumatic mast with camera and mast safety sensor, dual 12-kw generators, and a PC-based 40-channel audio recorder that can record telephone and radio audio.
SUPERIOR SIGNAL COMPANY, INC. celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The Old Bridge, New Jersey, company manufactures smoke generating devices and ultrasonic test instrumentation. In the early 1950s, Superior Signal was originally contracted to manufacture military and ship distress signals for government agencies, which were usually colored smoke and not suitable for civilian purposes. In 1954, the company developed a safe nonstaining smoke for civilian applications that contained no explosive materials. Superior’s smoke generators are used for applications including fire service training; leak-testing ductwork, furnaces, tanks, and piping; and observing airflow patterns, evaluating fume/exhaust, and smoke control systems.
CUMMINS INC. has transferred responsibility for the fire pump market to Cummins Fire Power, a division of Cummins NPower LLC. Cummins NPower, LLC, one of Cummins’ largest jointly owned distributors, is headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota; its fire pump driver business will be located at a 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Cummins announced that the first of its off-highway engines, the QSM11 Tier 3, slated for the January 2005 emission standards, has been certified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as compliant to the Tier 3 standards for oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM). Cummins is the first manufacturer to receive a Tier 3 Certificate of Conformity from the EPA.
The certified and compliant Cummins QSM11 Tier 3 was going into production in July 2004 with its advanced in-cylinder combustion recipe and an identical footprint from its Tier 2 predecessor, which minimizes any installation impacts for OEMs. The 11-liter, six-cylinder engine is rated from 290 to 400 hp and uses the CELECT™ fuel system with advanced electronic controls.
The Scott Emergency Management System (SEMS), developed by SCOTT HEALTH AND SAFETY, won a 2004 Distinction Award for Design from I.D. magazine. SEMS is designed to provide an air management system/PASS for the firefighter who transmits and receives information, such as low cylinder air, to and from a base station outside of the IDLH environment, to allow for better accountability of the firefighter by the incident commander. Its automatic operation is similar to that of Scott Pak-Alert SET, and it alerts a firefighter down alarm to the base station within 10 seconds of full activation. In addition, an incident commander can signal selected individuals or all logged-on users to evacuate for up to 48 users, tracking up to 100 total. A simple laptop connected to base station allows viewing of all users in a consolidated method.
PIERCE MANUFACTURING, INC. named Mark Meaders chief operating officer. He will assume operations responsibilities for the Pierce facilities in Appleton and Kewaunee, Wisconsin; Bradenton, Florida; and Goshen, Indiana. He will maintain his current responsibilities as executive vice president of sales, marketing, and distribution.
Tony Bonanno has joined FIRE FACILITIES as sales representative servicing the East Coast. He will oversee all aspects of direct selling, including facilitating the sales process from conception to completion and beyond. Bonanno assists with coordinating the design and construction of Fire Facilities’ training towers and handles all post-sale issues such as safety measures to follow while training with live fire.
BACOU-DALLOZ has appointed Henri-Dominique Petit chief executive officer; he was also named a company director. Previously, he served with Kodak as president for the Asia-Pacific region and a senior vice president of the company.
