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New ladder truck not going to happen in one Florida community. Also, spending $30,000 to repair 16-year-old pumper.

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Satellite Beach Fire Department in Florida has decided not to share the cost of a new ladder truck with Brevard County Fire-Rescue, as originally planned, according to floridatoday.com.  They are also planning to put tens of thousands of dollars into a 1996 pumper.  Click here for the full story.

In October — five weeks before the general election — the Satellite Beach City Council unanimously decided to pursue the $775,000 joint purchase of a 100-foot ladder truck that would be stationed on South Patrick Drive. But a new majority on the five-member board balked at the cost.

Satellite Beach would have covered $425,000 of the tab, and Brevard County Fire-Rescue would have paid $350,000. City Council turned down this offer last month by a 4-1 vote.

Now, Fire Chief Don Hughes will seek a third estimate to repair a broken crankshaft in his department’s 1996 pumper truck.

Posted by on February 22, 2012 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Apparatus, funding-apparatus • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

John Deere to the rescue. Rig pulled to safety at field fire.

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There are no details listed with this video to tell you where and when it occurred. It looks like the fire was a bit too close for comfort after the rig got stuck in the mud.

 

Posted by on February 20, 2012 • Filed under: Apparatus, videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Antique of the Week: The story behind the Mack pumper Eagles player Danny Watkins bought.

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On Thursday, we showed you the video above with Philadelphia Eagles rookie Danny Watkins behind the wheel of the fire engine he recently bought. Watkins is a former firefighters from British Columbia. One of the previous owners of the Mack, Joe Lupo of Milton, Pennsylvania, fills us in on the background of the rig:

While looking at the site today I see a 1971 Mack CF I just recently sold with an article about Danny Watkins. A little history on the rig. I bought it in Aug. of 2010 from a small Dept. in Northwestern PA. They received a federal grant which states the rig cannot be used for firefighting anymore so I bought it. The engine was bought new in 1971 from the Ridge Fire Company Spring City (Chester County) PA. In 2008 they sold it to the Community Vol. Fire Company in Mahaffey (Clearfield County) PA. They owned the rig until Aug. 2010 when I purchased it. I was the first to own the rig privately. I had it to a number of musters and parades and received some awards along the way. When I sold the rig I did not know a pro football player was the one actually buying it. While at a SPAAMFAA meet in Gettysburg PA a few weeks later I found out who actually bought it.

Read more about Watkins' firefighting past. 

Posted by on February 19, 2012 • Filed under: Apparatus, Vintage/Antique • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Parked fire engine rolls out of station and hits pole. Lots of questions in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

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Image above from WFTV-TV. Click here to watch the story.

In New Smyrna Beach, Florida firefighters are trying to figure out why a fire engine recently rolled across the street from the station and hit a utility pole.

More from WFTV-TV:

"What I know is the truck was parked, the parking brake lever was activated, and the truck was still able to roll," (Chief David) McCallister said.

According to witness statements, the 2003 Pierce fire truck sat for two and a half hours on a slight decline before it rolled about 50 feet to the power pole. Officials said the truck's parking brake lever was engaged when they found it here.

"We found the truck as it had been found and we verified that the parking brake was in the applied position," McCallister said.

Posted by on February 17, 2012 • Filed under: Apparatus, firefighter-safety-health, news, vehicle-operations-apparatus, videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rockford, IL updates fleet including 35-year-old rig.

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The Rockford Fire Department in Illinois is getting three quints and an engine.  They are replacing old trucks that were manufacturered in 1976. More from chicagoareafire.com

Over the past four years, they have disposed of three 1976 Pirsch quints. They still have a fourth 1976 Pirsch quint and a 1976 Seagrave 100′ TDA in reserve. They recently placed an order with Pierce for four new units. Three Velocity 105′ quints with steel ladders and a Saber engine have been  ordered.

wrex.com reported this from the council meeting that details the purchase.  Click here for the full story.

 All total, the four vehicles have an estimated cost of $3.2 million.  The city will lease them for 7 years at a rate of $350,000 per year. Rockford will continue to lease new vehicles for other departments. "We're going to be able to do a much better job ensuring the public and ensuring our staff that we have the right equipment for the job that's safe and that's going to do the best job of meeting our taxpayers needs," said Morrissey.

Posted by on February 17, 2012 • Filed under: Apparatus, funding-apparatus, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Teammate says Eagles rookie Danny Watkins’ first big purchase is a Mack fire engine. And he has the video & pictures.

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Interesting video and picture shot by Philadelphia Eagles' center Jason Kelce of his friend Danny Watkins behind the wheel of what is being described on sports websites as his new purchase. Watkins had been a volunteer firefighter at West Kelowna Fire & Rescue in British Columbia and planned to be a career firefighter before football got in the way.

Click here and here for more information.

Read more about Watkins' firefighting past. 

Posted by on February 16, 2012 • Filed under: Apparatus, videos, Vintage/Antique • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rapid City, S.D. Fire Department adds Arrow XT Pumpers to its Pierce fleet

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Picture from Pierce Manufacturing

Rapid City, SD is very happy with Pierce.  Their front line apparatus is all Pierce built. 16 units in all from reserve pieces to Medtec ambulances.  They just placed two Arrow XT pumpers in service.  Click here for full story from Pierce Manufacturing

“We’re a high call volume department, and can put 20,000 miles on a pumper in a single year, so ruggedness and durability are key,” said Fire Chief Mike Maltaverne of the Rapid City Fire Department. “The Arrow XTs have been a great fit for Rapid City – they’re heavy-duty and have proven themselves to be extremely reliable. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find any Pierce truck sitting in our maintenance facility. They’re always in service – and that’s a good thing for our department’s bottom line.”

Posted by on February 16, 2012 • Filed under: Apparatus, funding-apparatus, news, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Trucks damaged at large fire in Pennsylvania.

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Fayette and Somerset County fire trucks sustained damage at a large fire at the Mystic Mountain Ski Lodge on Sunday night.  As reported by dailyamerican.com, the fire was the biggest one chief has seen in over 40 years.  See the full story here.

(Addison Chief Gary Compton) He said a "shower of embers" rained down on their equipment.

"The fire was in the air and it started coming back over us," he said. "I was expecting the paint to start bubbling on the side of the engine at any time."

He said Addison's damage is minor compared to other fire departments, which have cracked windshields and damaged hoses. He said one fire engine from Fayette County had to be quickly moved further from the structure as the flames spread.

Posted by on February 15, 2012 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Staffing is important in Honolulu. No more driving ambulances.

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A TV station is reporting that Honolulu firefighters will no longer be driving ambulances to the hospital.  According to the story, HFD says firefighters are needed on emergencies and minimum staffing levels are required.  If they are driving an ambulance then there may not be enough staffing to respond to an emergency. They are not trained to drive ambulances so they have formed a group to discuss how they can work together.  See the full story here from khon2.com

When there's a major accident or critical medical condition a Honolulu Firefighter would sometimes become the driver of an ambulance and assist EMT's to the hospital as they give medical care to a patient.

HFD says that cuts into their manpower and if staffing is short, a fire company could be forced to shut down, impacting HFD's ability to respond to another emergency.

"We have minimum staffing requirements for fire engines and if there's not enough personnel than we don't respond," says Chief Silva.

 

Posted by on February 13, 2012 • Filed under: Apparatus, funding-staffing, patient-management • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Antique of the Week: 1957 B Model Mack tiller.

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Click here for pictures of the rig

This is from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. A ride on the 1957 B Model Mack tiller with an 85 foot Maxim ladder, originally from Allison Hook & Ladder.

Posted by on February 12, 2012 • Filed under: Apparatus, Vintage/Antique • Tagged: , , , , ,