Fire Apparatus

Climate change along with continued human encroachment into the wildland urban interface is making many fire departments realize that they need wildland firefighting capabilities, and these departments are not all west of the Mississippi River. Those departments are finding that their Type I and II engines, the traditional pumping apparatus with an in-line pump, are not the right fit when combating fires and protecting structures in the WUI.

Here's what you need to know before replacing, or buying your first, airport rescue and firefighting vehicle.

Sirens. Firefighters love them and more than a few in the general public detest them — as evidenced by letters to the editor in many daily newspapers. And lawyers have grown increasingly fond of sirens as a new revenue stream.

Obtaining a water supply for fire suppression from a static source like a lake, stream, or pond has always been a cornerstone of rural water supply. Not that it's always been easy. But a new generation of hard suction hose and appliances are making this crucial rural water supply task much easier.

The fire apparatus business in the United States is extremely competitive, but then, you already knew that. The fire apparatus manufacturers are also a very innovative bunch who are constantly looking at ways to build pumping apparatus that meets the tactical needs for fire suppression, rescue, EMS, hazmat, wildland-urban interface fires, etc.

It hasn't been that long ago that firefighters first began seeing radio/intercom headsets for their riding positions on the apparatus. Those wired-in systems enabled the crew to communicate better amongst themselves while the vehicle was in motion.

Back in 1969, an Australian lifeguard from the Avalon Surf Lifesaving Club was returning to the Land Down Under from lifeguard duties in the United Kingdom. Australia has beautiful beaches along its more than 16,000 miles of coastline, and in addition to the beauty, those beaches have a wide variety of some of the wildest surf on the planet.

The subject of fire apparatus and ambulances shutting down because of Environmental Protection Agency required filters on their diesel engines becoming too dirty has garnered a lot of attention in recent months.

I remember when the first desktop PCs appeared in our fire stations about 1994; by mid-2002 we got our first exposure to using computing technology in the field when we introduced an electronic patient-care reporting system.

I first heard this early in my career as a fire officer: "One technology year equals seven calendar years." Today, it's more like one tech year equals seven minutes; we just get our hands on the next big thing only to see the "nextest big thing" come on the market the following week.