Fire Trucks Get a Safety-First Makeover

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Cool article.

Fire Trucks Get a Safety-First Makeover

Tuesday September 11, 1:17 pm ET

By Emily Fredrix, AP Business Writer

MENASHA, Wis. (AP) -- Firefighting is all about speed: fast red trucks, fires that can quickly get out of control. The only thing the industry seems slow at is changing its vehicles.

But now, a leading fire truck manufacturer has remade the tired, red standard truck to reflect the changing nature of the job, which has gone from simply putting out fires to more often providing on-the-scene medical attention. Analysts say the demand for fire trucks is stable and unlikely to change, so changes to the nation's fleet will come gradually.

Pierce Manufacturing Inc.'s latest innovation makes vital parts like water hoses more accessible. It also makes the trucks more easily serviceable and provides more space for medical equipment.

The U.S. Fire Administration estimates that every 20 seconds, one of the nation's more than 30,000 fire departments responds to a call. In 2005, there were 23.25 million calls -- and more than 60 percent were for medical aid. Only 1.6 million -- less than 7 percent -- were for fires.

Firefighters provide the bulk of health care needs before people are taken to hospitals or emergency rooms, said Rich Duffy, assistant to the general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters.

"I think over the last 20 to 30 years, fire departments have moved from being first aid providers to emergency medical technicians to full-blown advance life support paramedic response," he said.

All of these changes mean trucks must evolve as well, said Mike Moore, director of new product development for Pierce, a division of specialty vehicle maker Oshkosh Truck Corp. The company, based near Appleton, spent five years working on its newest truck -- called the PUC or Pierce Ultimate Configuration.

Miami-Dade Fire And Rescue just took possession of the first one, a bright lime-green model. Pierce said it already has a handful of orders from other departments.

Moore said research showed that departments want more space for equipment, beyond standard hoses and protective gear. Now they want medical and rescue tools.

"I've never had a fire department say, 'We've pulled off all our equipment and we need a smaller truck,'" he said.

So the company came up with several changes that may not be visible to the average person. To firefighters they stand out:

--35 percent to 40 percent more compartment space than traditional models -- with trays that pull out and shelves throughout the vehicles.

--The length of the average truck is under 30 feet, down from 32 to 33 feet, and the wheel base is shortened by 1.5 feet, which makes them more maneuverable.

--Hoses are in trays at chest height, for quick access. Other fire trucks have hoses several feet off the ground, meaning firefighters must climb onto the truck to reach them.

--The water pump activates in two steps instead of nine.

A big change has been reconfiguring the water pump, which pumps up to 1,500 gallons a minute through the hoses, Moore said. Now it sits under the cab of the truck, rather than behind it, in a separate enclosure and under a jungle of plumbing. When it needs to be serviced, mechanics don't have to sort through all that plumbing. They can just tilt the cab up. Pumps need regular service because of wear caused by silt, debris and other items that come with water sources, Moore said. The changes mean a truck may now be out of commission for only four hours versus several days to a week.

"The trucks need to be on the front lines, protecting communities. That's what they buy them for," Moore said. "Anything we can do to make them easier to service, that's what we aim for."

Ordering a fire truck is not like selecting a car off a dealer's lot. Two years can pass from the time a municipality decides to get a truck until it starts making calls. Fire departments seek bids, citing what they want in their vehicles and take the best offer.

Prices vary depending on options. Pierce said its vehicles range from $150,000 for smaller ones to $1 million for larger, more complicated trucks. Custom pumpers -- which the PUC is considered -- range from $250,000 to $600,000.

The trucks last about 20 years, and for smaller communities one truck may be all they have, he said. That's why departments spend a lot of time sorting through options and visiting manufacturers. It's common to see up to 100 firefighters at Pierce's headquarters each day, inspecting trucks and looking through options.

Pierce holds about 35 percent of the fire truck market and is considered the leader in technology and innovation, said Steve Barger, a research analyst with KeyBanc Capital Markets in Cleveland. Roughly 70 companies make 5,000 to 5,500 fire trucks each year, he said. He couldn't estimate the market's value because the cost varies so much. Other large players are Rosenbauer Group, American LaFrance LLC and E-One Inc., part of Federal Signal Corp.

Pierce says it sells more than 1,600 trucks a year. Sales have been rising for parent company's Oshkosh's fire and emergency segment. The segment, which is made up of a number of subsidiaries, finished last year with sales up more than 14 percent to $961.5 million, from $841.5 million the year before, according to Oshkosh's annual report.

Miami-Dade's fire department spends about $4.5 million a year buying 10 fire trucks and other vehicles to keep its fleet of 125 vehicles going. The department expects its new Pierce truck to last 10 years and put on 300,000 miles, said Capt. John Soeder, in charge of logistics and research and development. It'll take a month to get the truck in service and have firefighters and mechanics trained to use it, he said.

He said he liked the repositioning of the hose, which makes it safer to get to for firefighters.

"It's paramount because if our firefighters aren't safe, we can't rescue anybody else," he said.

The industry's vehicles are starting to respond to the safety concerns, said Duffy, with the IAFF. As many as one-fourth of firefighter deaths in the past decade are from vehicle crashes. The IAFF, which represents more than 281,000 career firefighters, has urged firefighters to drive cautiously, make complete stops and wear seat belts. Duffy said he's glad newer trucks have air bags, but he wants them to be standard. They are standard on the new Pierce vehicles.

Barger, the analyst, said Pierce's changes could become more common throughout the industry, depending on how well the vehicle does.

But changes in the industry are slow. Fire departments have big budgets and big demands, and they often don't want to stray from what they know works, he said. They are particular about options, he said, which is why companies like Pierce offer dozens of shades of red. Everything has to be just right.

"The fire industry is typically slow to embrace changes and it's driven by tradition," Barger said. "So new innovations really need to play out in the marketplace and prove their effectiveness to really get deep penetration."

Pierce: http://www.piercemfg.com

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070911/changing_fi...rucks.html?.v=1

[Guest partyrock]

I've seen a lot of press about the PUC system and everything said is all good things. The truth I have learned in my life is that nothing is free. So what has Pierce sacrificed to achieve shorter wheelbase, shorter overall length, lower hose bed heights, increased compartment space, a reconfigured pump squeezed under the cab, and a pump thats simpler to operate to boot. The traditional pump config does leave a lot of wasted space and I'm willing to bet you could shrink it some without compromising performance, but at some point you have to start adding turns, kinks, alter the configuration and/or decrease the number of intakes and outputs. Once you get the pump out of the way then I can see the lower hose beds, increased compartment space, or the shorter length but not all three.

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

Maybe all of the options are due to the fact that they may be in comparison to a similar sized rig

[Guest partyrock]

Maybe all of the options are due to the fact that they may be in comparison to a similar sized rig

Huh?? Take a traditional rig, 1500 gpm pump and 1,000 gal of water. Without seriously cutting your tank capacity I don't see how you can add compartment space, drop the hose bed, and shorten the chassis.

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

How much room does the average mid-mount take up......4 feet or more?

say it is more then 4 feet, if you put the pump under the cab you free up the room from the pump for more compartment space and increase the tank lenght you can cut down the lenght of the rig and the height

[ny10570 745]

I've wondered about this too. You still don't have enough space to do it all bvfdjc. Average cross lay is about as wide as the pump space. Drop that and there goes your space savings. To get everything they offer you have to go with a 500 gallong tank 6 man cab. The PUC isn't everything they make it out to be. If EWFAC is still on this site maybe he can chime in with something.

Edited October 29, 2007 by ny10570

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

What happens when you put the cross lay in the new compartment? That might explain the "more space"

[Monty 35]

I've wondered about this too. You still don't have enough space to do it all bvfdjc. Average cross lay is about as wide as the pump space. Drop that and there goes your space savings. To get everything they offer you have to go with a 500 gallong tank 6 man cab. The PUC isn't everything they make it out to be. If EWFAC is still on this site maybe he can chime in with something.

For an average urban / suburban department, isn't that more than adequate (6 man / 500 gallon)? How many career departments have an engine crew of more than 6? I bet there's many that have 4 or less.

Looking at cost / risk assessment etc, more medical / rescue / extrication space would seem to make a lot of sense in a lot of communities. How often have you used all the hose in the bed? All the handlines on the vehicle? Sure, 10 years ago, there was the surround and drown, but what calls did you do this past month or year?

You can't have it all. Maybe we should reconsider what we really want.

[IzzyEng4 427]

Placing the pump controls in a compartment does not give you added space. Pierce's PUC configuration does shorten eh wheel base up but you still had a pump housing though its half under an extended cab. I think its just advertising.

[ny10570 745]

For an average urban / suburban department, isn't that more than adequate (6 man / 500 gallon)? How many career departments have an engine crew of more than 6? I bet there's many that have 4 or less.

Thats a whole different issue. At some point less is more. Take any manufacturer then shrink the tank, pump, and cab and you will suddenly have plenty of space to drop your hose beds and increase your compartment space. My thing is this is at least the third time I've seen PUC lauded on this site but I don't get why. It seems like a gimmick rather than real innovtion.