27,600 Attendees Fire Up At FDIC

Apparatus Ideas
By Bob Barraclough
Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Magazine

Smeal's Metro Flex stainless steel, rear mounted pumper had many new features including low crosslays and excellent pump access. (Fire Apparatus Photos)

Space does not permit me to mention all of the new ideas, trucks and tools that were located in the thousands of square feet in both the convention center and Lucas Oil Stadium. However, some of the equipment stands out in my mind.

Summit Fire Apparatus exhibited an industrial foam pumper, one of the best thought out big foam trucks I have seen. It was complete with a large FoamPro AccuMax 3300 proportioning system, a 5,000-gpm monitor and a Snozzle boom. Well done Summit.

The new Smeal stainless steel Metro Flex body was impressive with the low preconnects, rear-mounted pump and outstanding pump access panels.

Super Vac had a new large-scale positive pressure ventilation fan destined for the Ft. Worth Fire Department. Not sure what the capacity was, but the SVU series blowers can reach 250,000 CFM.

C.E. Niehoff introduced a new air-cooled diesel powered (S756) 10,000-watt generator with dual voltage (120/240). Although they list maximum watts, they rated it at 7,000 watts for continuous operation. One "attaboy" for owner George Buhrfeind and the Niehoff staff for giving us honest, continuous load ratings.

Know what a MVP is? Hint: It is made in Louisiana by Ferrara. They call it the Multi Vocational Pumper, and it was one of the best-equipped, well thought out pumpers at the show. As the saying goes, "Everything has a place, and everything is in its place." This rescue pumper had just about everything you could possibly need for virtually any emergency. Well done Chris, Production Manager Glyn Harding and the Ferrara staff.

The front bumper on the new Ferrara MVP Multi Vocational Pumper has a preconnect, a portable winch and a Federal Q siren plus electronic sirens.

Another frequently photographed Rosenbauer truck was the red, four door Freightliner commercial chassis equipped with a black Metz 102-foot ladder.

It was good to see all four pump suppliers offering sensible and more compact pump systems. CAF or CAF-like foam packages are now refined so that almost all departments can afford these systems and should be specifying them.

Seagrave had a mock-up of its stainless steel cab on the show floor. Seagrave says it is the only manufacturer to offer a stainless steel protective cage for safety.

The waterway on the new Pierce aluminum platform is mounted on the side of the ladder.

Pierce manufacturing had a big display showing a wide variety of vehicles. Of note was the new, 100-foot aluminum platform with the waterway mounted on the side of the ladder. We haven't seen this feature since the ALF Water Chief.

Although Pierce's parent, Oshkosh Corporation, reported a loss of $1.175 million for the second quarter, it was good to see the stock price climbing. Yesterday it was $11.56 a share, almost double where it was some six months ago. Spartan stock is also making a nice comeback, as it closed yesterday at $9.04.

A Few Bumps
It is the first year at FDIC without the inflatable dome as a venue for large apparatus and the first exposure for many to see and travel the innards of the new Lucas Oil Stadium. Overall it went as well as could be expected, although not without a few bumps.

Super Vac and Tempest offer positive pressure ventilation fans for clearing out smoky tunnels or buildings. This is a large capacity SVI version heading to the Fort Worth FD.

It was obvious that the designers gave a lot more thought to the structure as a football stadium than as a venue for a trade show. The uneven floor (caused by surface mounted drains and power cables) made walking difficult and caused several falls by some who were not watching their steps. The long walk down the ramp to the exhibit floor wasn't nearly as bad as the trek back up to the entrance level. Overall, I'd give the new stadium a C-minus as an exhibition venue.

Indy's Biggest Conference
The two to three-block walk between the convention center and the stadium included a lovely, dark, underground passage (a railroad passes overhead) complete with panhandlers looking for money for alcohol research. Then there were the Indianapolis police department vehicles parking on the sidewalks which made walking between the two exhibit centers dangerous and challenging. I'd give the Indianapolis city officials a D on their preparation for this, their biggest conference.

Kudos go to Eric Schlett, Lila Gillespie, Nanci Banner, Bobby Halton and the Fire Engineering staff for making the best of a difficult situation. It's too bad Indianapolis officials did not get their act together to smooth out the transition. Maybe they don't really appreciate the amount of money this conference brings in to the hotels, taxis and restaurants? I'll bet there are several other cities that would dearly love to have the revenue and the notoriety associated with hosting this annual conference.

Just before the show, American LaFrance announced it was closing LTI in Ephrata, Pa., and its Hamburg, N.Y., facility and consolidating all operations to the Summerville, S.C. plant. That's a lot to digest, but I doubt many of LTI's Amish craftsmen will be zooming down I-95 in their buggies to staff the aerial line in South Carolina. Many of us who have been around for a while are still in the dark about what ALF's owner, Patriarch Partners, may be doing.

Meanwhile, Daimler Benz/Freightliner has recalled some 3,000 Condor chassis to inspect and possibly repair cab lifting cylinder mounts. Apparently, some of them have broken off and allowed the cab to tilt too far forward. If you have one of these chassis in your department, better have it checked.

Jim Hebe, senior vice president of Navistar, led off his FDIC press conference by saying Navistar has agreements with Spartan and E-One for them to use Maxxforce engines in their chassis. Although International is using credits to start off the program, he said his engineers have assured him that the SCR (urea injection systems) method for cleaning up emissions used by all other engine manufacturers will not be required on the Maxxforce engines to meet the 2010 EPA requirements.

Editor's Note: Bob Barraclough is a 50-year veteran of the fire service and fire manufacturing industry. He is chief columnist for Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment magazine and a 20-year member of the NFPA 1901 Fire Apparatus Standards Committee. A principal organizer of the annual FDSOA Apparatus Specification Symposium, he is also a past president of the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers' Association. Barraclough serves as a consultant to Rosenbauer America and Akron Brass and is called upon as an expert witness in litigation involving fire industry products. His career includes executive positions at E-ONE, Hale Fire Pumps, National Foam, Span Instruments and Class 1.