antiquefirelt

[-X One might say "Too High Tech" ! We recently toured the area to speak to line firefighters about the tower ladders they operated on. We spoke to 20 departments, in three states representing 5 apparatus manufacturers. Too a person, basically, everyone had a similar issue: too much electronic sensors. Almost everyone had some isse where the apparatus had a failed sensor that caused an alarm and worse prevented the aerial from a critical operation. Most agreed we'd like to buy a band new 1985 tower ladder without all the NFPA gadgets that fail. We even found one department who noted during a ride that the compartment door ajar alarm and light was malfunctioning and to not worry about the alarms, when in fact the rear ladder storage tunnel doors were open. The truck had been in service two days! Two days and already disregarding the idiot lights. How about a truck with no sensor to tell you the outriggers are out, we;ll just walk around the truck like we always have. How about no idiot lights on the doors that fail when the truck hit a big bump. How about compartment lights that come on with a single switch activated by the parking brake instead of 14 individual switches ? Come on NFPA give us a break! The new trucks are have so much safety stuff that fails that over time firefighters don't pay attention to the idot lights and buzzers. In which case all NFPA has done is make the trucks more complex and expensive. Oh, thats right the NFPA apparatus committee is full of those who profit from broke down trucks. Thanks to all those departments who spoke candidly about their apparatus! You've helped us immensely.