TO BUY (OR NOT TO BUY) A QUINT

BY JAKE RIXNER

Many fire departments across the country are exploring the possibility of purchasing a quint. These five-function vehicles offer progressive fire service leaders new options on their arrival at the scene of a working fire.

As with any radical new concept, “working the bugs out” to optimize performance takes time, commitment, and training by all parties involved. This article examines my actual experiences trying to achieve these goals. (Note: Switching to quints is a major decision. Thoroughly study the issue from various perspectives, especially how it will “fit” your department and affect firefighter safety and performance. See “The Pros and Cons of Quints” for some factors that should be considered.)

A quint operating at a one-alarm fire in a building under construction at Virginia Commonwealth University. (Photos by author.)

Richmond, Virginia, is a city that encompasses 200,000 people in an area of 62.5 miles. It has been home to Phillip Morris and several other large tobacco companies for many years. In addition, south Richmond was the site of many acres of tobacco warehouses. The process of producing cigarettes is an inherent fire hazard, since tobacco must be stored to dry and is processed and transported to manufacturing machines through ductwork. Tobacco dust is a highly explosive by-product of producing cigarettes. One result of the dangers faced by this industry is that we have a superior municipal water distribution system. These large warehouses require large fire flows.

In 1971, the Richmond Fire Bureau (RFB) consisted of 25 two-piece engine companies, nine senior aerial ladder companies, and two tactical squad companies. Each was staffed with an officer and five firefighters. The last ISO rating for the RFB, in the early 1970s, was Class II Fire Bureau. By 1982, the RFB consisted of 20 engines, nine trucks, and one squad. Seven of the engine companies were two-piece; 13 were single-piece. The daily minimum staffing was 150 firefighters on duty.

Quint bottoming out: Note the angle formed by the level ground and a line from the point at which the rear tires touch the ground to the lowest projection at the rear of the truck.

Fiscal difficulties throughout the next 13 years led to the department’s being whittled down to 20 engines, all one-piece, and six trucks, with no tactical squads. In 1996, newly appointed Fire Chief Jack McElfish, faced with more fiscal constrictions, proposed a “total quint concept.” The plan called for 20 quint companies, eliminating all truck companies, and creating three new heavy rescue companies.

Taking the department from 26 companies down to 23 companies caused a reduction of 50 firefighters, with a minimum citywide staffing of 100 firefighters per day-a 33 percent reduction in just 13 years. A contract was awarded for the following:

four quints with 105-foot aerial ladders with 300-gallon booster tanks;
14 quints with 75-foot aerial ladders with 500-gallon booster tanks; and
one 100-foot platform, commonly know as a tower, that carries 200 gallons of water.

In addition, we purchased nine Class B 500-gpm pumpers on commercial chassis with the intentions of deploying these units to the companies with the most EMS runs.

A draft was compiled:

First-due units would function as an engine company.
Second-due units would do truck work.
The heavy rescue was responsible for search and rescue.
Third-due units would perform engine operations.
Fourth-due units would function as the second truck.
Fifth-due units would perform engine operations.

CHRISTMAS IN MARCH

I was a lieutenant at Engine 6 when our quint was delivered. Enthusiasm was high when we were sent to the training division and turned over on our new quint with just four hours of instruction. We were all excited to receive a new piece of equipment. I was concerned about the brevity of the training. My platoon consisted of three firefighters and one vacant position. The two senior firefighters each had nine years of service, all in an engine company. The junior firefighter had seven years on the job. He had only a couple of years of service in a truck company. I had served eight years in an engine company before being promoted to lieutenant and was assigned to a busy truck company for six years before coming to Engine Company 6. Two months later, we were assigned a rookie to fill the vacancy. We should have recognized the lack of ladder company experience as an indication of the challenges ahead. Many officers voiced these concerns to the administration through channels. Other company commanders found themselves with the opposite problem: firefighters who had spent entire careers in ladder companies but had never been to pump school and didn’t know how to pump. Once again, concerns sent through the chain of command fell on deaf ears.

THE INJURIES BEGIN

The grade of the street prevents this quint from turning right into this dead-end block.

It wasn’t long after all of the companies had received the quints that uncommon things started to become common. The supply hose was located in a bed under the aerial ladder. To lay out the hose required that it pass under the turntable through a chute approximately eight feet long. While laying hose, couplings would jam or catch before entering the chute, resulting in the four-inch supply hose’s being dragged up the street behind the apparatus. If the hose was wrapped around the hydrant, the hydrant was pulled from the ground like a weed.

Another dangerous situation occurred when the hose was pulled tight. It would break and snap like a whip. It was only by the grace of God that no citizens were injured or killed. The same can’t be said of the firefighters. One firefighter was struck in the leg while taking a hydrant. It was six months before he regained feeling in his leg. Another firefighter sustained a nearly fatal basil skull fracture while taking a hydrant. He was flung 12 feet into the air and landed on his head when the hose pulled taught and broke at the coupling. The hose itself traveled more than 100 feet and wrapped itself violently around a large tree. There were many other near misses before the problem was solved.

SLOW RIDE

Have you ever traveled by bus? Do you remember how slow the trip was? Responding to a fire in a quint is a lot like riding a bus. Yes, you will arrive but maybe a little late. I have six successful rescues from burning buildings in my career, and I can state with certainty that four of those people didn’t have 15 seconds left to spare. I have been to other jobs where other firefighters made rescues with no time to spare. Time is the essential ingredient in rescue.

Minor accidents are common with quints; it seems that we are constantly making contact with other objects that result in bent metal. Even our most careful chauffeurs have had problems. The B-platoon at # 6 was the last shift to wrinkle the quint. We had just cleared from a run; the driver was cutting the wheel hard to avoid a parked auto when the rear end of the apparatus swung out into moving traffic, causing a collision. Interestingly enough, most of our collisions with the quints are returning from alarms not responding.

LONELY DUTY

Prior to the quint concept, half of the Richmond fire stations were double stations-an engine and a truck. Now, only three double stations remain. It’s very lonely working in a building designed for 12 firefighters when only four are working. Ancillary duties such as cleaning the fire station are carried out with half of the personnel. Other duties, such as building inspections and hydrant maintenance, are performed by fewer people.

Because there are fewer firefighters working in each fire station, we must empty more stations to have 16 firefighters at a dwelling fire or a minimum of 25 at a target hazard. The result is large areas of the city are left unprotected during the incident. A fire in an apartment building in the Fulton Hill neighborhood in the pre-quint days would empty three stations. Today, the same response would require emptying five stations. This strips downtown and the entire east end of the city of fire protection and commits 25 percent of the on-duty suppression forces.

HISTORY LESSONS

An old adage that rings true is “Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.” Our grandfathers worked with 75-foot aerial ladders and 500-gpm pumpers and found both deficient. Now 50 years later, we have forgotten history and are rediscovering lessons learned long ago.

I was the first-in officer at a fire in a four-story type III 50- 2 200-foot nursing facility of type III construction. The fire was on the third floor; people were trapped in the building because of the heavy smoke. I had six quint companies, a heavy rescue, and a battalion chief, all of whom would be on-scene in a few minutes. I had the ball for the moment. I radioed to the next-arriving engine to take the standpipe system. Then I realized that it was responding with its 500-gpm pumper, not the exact card you want to play in this hand. We put a quick knock on the fire and vented the building. No lives were lost, but any fireground commander will tell you added distractions are unneeded and extremely stressful at a critical life-and-death incident.

SIZE MATTERS

Fire station 18 was one of the three fire stations that required extensive renovation to house the quint.

The booster tank size is reduced on quint apparatus because of weight and space considerations. I remember returning from a full first-alarm assignment one evening. As we were returning to quarters, communications sent #5 to a vehicle fire on I-95. As we approached our own quarters, we were sent to assist #5. I was puzzled. I’ve never been special called to an automobile fire before. When we got there, officer #5 told me he had used up his 200 gallons of water. We had only 300 more gallons to add. As we stood on the side of the interstate, the irony hit me: We had well over a million dollars worth of equipment and two aerial ladders on this call, but we didn’t have enough water to extinguish a simple automobile fire. That’s progress?

LADDER COMPANY DUTIES

I surveyed 10 fire departments that have used quints. All reported a lack of truck company functions at working fires. In Firefighting Principles & Practices, Second Edition (Fire Engineering, 1991), William E. Clark states that the common difference between paid and volunteer fire departments is the quality of the ladder company functions performed. I have experienced the lack of truck work at fires since the implementation of the quints. It is common to respond to fires in Richmond as the assigned truck company and to be ordered to take a hydrant and stretch a hoseline. Truck work truly suffers.

I understand that most government bodies have limited amounts of money for public services and that the tighter money gets, the more innovative we must become. Although quint-type apparatus are innovative, I’m not convinced they are for everyone. What looks great on paper doesn’t always work in the real world. The challenges I’ve related in this article are a day-to-day source of frustration for the front-line forces in Richmond, Virginia. Like most firefighters, we are can-do people and are trying our utmost to make the best of what we have.

Before you buy into this new concept, study your response area carefully. Ask yourself these questions: Is this type of apparatus a good fit for my needs? Are the roads wide enough and bridges strong enough to accommodate these apparatus? Are we willing to commit to extensive training so all our people will be qualified in both ladder work and pumping skills?

Finally, we must never forget that it is the people riding the apparatus who stretch the hose, make the rescues, and knock down fires. Our quints are big and beautiful with lots of chrome, flashing lights, and other gadgetry. However, if given a choice between modern fire trucks with mediocre firefighters and that “plain-Jane” 1976 Mack pumper with motivated and dedicated firefighters like we had at Engine 5, I’ll take the old Mack every trip of the train.

Is there a way to achieve the discipline necessary to accomplish effective ladder company duties using this type of apparatus? If anyone out there has the answer, please share it with us all.

This article is strictly the opinion of the author and in no way reflects the position of the Richmond (VA) Fire and Emergency Services Department.

The Pros and Cons of Quints

ADVANTAGES

It looks good on paper. An increase in pump capacity can be shown, as has been done in Richmond, Virginia, and St. Louis, Missouri, when the departments purchased fleets of quints with 2,000-gpm pumps.
Reduction of staffing = saving money. By staffing each quint with four persons, the staffing of separate truck companies is effectively eliminated. This results in large savings of personnel salaries.
Increase in the number of aerial ladders available. Every piece of apparatus now is equipped with a “big stick.”
Apparatus able to perform engine or truck tasks. The quint offers the flexibility to perform as an engine or a truck, as needed.
An all-new fleet. If a department chooses to use an “all-quint fleet,” it will acquire an entire new fleet of firefighting apparatus at one time.
Four-door cabs with air-conditioning. This is an advantage over older apparatus, since the firefighters are safely enclosed in the vehicle. Rehabilitation time during hot weather is greatly reduced because of air-conditioning.
Ability to make immediate ladder rescues above the third floor. Having an aerial ladder on each piece of apparatus makes it possible to make quicker rescues above the third floor, since no time is wasted waiting for other companies to arrive.
Superior ladder pipe. The ladder pipe on the quint is prepositioned and is instantly ready for use. It also can sweep a 180° area, as opposed to older-style ladder nozzles, which can only sweep 30°.

DISADVANTAGES

Difficult to maneuver. The apparatus is large, is heavy, and can be difficult to maneuver in traffic. It is more difficult to turn the quint into narrow streets than a pumper. There has been a marked increase in the number of vehicle-involved accidents compared with the times when more traditional apparatus were used.
Increased maintenance and fuel costs. Many separate systems-the water pump, motor and drivetrain, aerial ladder hydraulic system, and electric generator, for example-are placed close together. Mechanics often have to remove these items to access the component in need of repair. This is time consuming and, consequently, costly.

Also, the quints have shown a reduced brake service life and increased tire wear. All 10 tires on Quint 6 needed to be replaced after just 10,000 miles.

Increased response time. Reduced maneuverability has increased response time. Firefighters have found that they have to dismount at short intersections and back up the apparatus, which significantly increases response time.

Also, because the average quint weighs more than a pumper, it is more likely to encounter bridge weight restrictions in the response district, which results in a longer response time.

Increase in unprotected areas during emergencies. The reduction in staffing means that more companies are needed on the first alarm (to have sufficient personnel at the scene). This results in more areas being left unprotected.
Perfect positioning needed. The 75-foot ladder has come up short when perfect positioning at the fire scene is not possible.
All-at-once purchase poses risks. Purchasing an entire fleet at one time is risky because one specification error or miscalculation can result in the entire fleet’s becoming problematic for the next 15 to 20 years.
Insufficient personnel for engine and truck functions. It is impossible with a staff of only four firefighters to effectively do both engine company functions and truck company work with the same crew.
Fire station renovations may be needed. Old fire stations may have to be renovated to accommodate the quint. The quint’s weight may necessitate changes in the floor support design, and the station’s door size may have to be modified to accommodate the quint’s height.
Ineffective ladder company function. Many departments that use quints report that ladder company functions are not being performed effectively. Therefore, for normal ladder company functions to be performed in a timely manner, strict operating procedures must be enforced.
Insufficient space for ground ladders. The quint, since it is to perform as an engine and a truck, does not have enough space to carry the equivalent footage of ground ladders as senior tractor-drawn ladders.
Smaller booster tank. The quint’s booster tank size might be much smaller than a conventional triple combination pumper.

JAKE RIXNER, a 22-year veteran of the fire service, is a company officer for the Richmond (VA) Department of Fire and Emergency Services, an instructor with Virginia Fire Programs, and a volunteer firefighter with the Kentland Fire Department in Prince George’s County, Maryland.