
By Bill Adkins
Anyone living in or around Goshen Township (Clermont County, OH) can tell you there is a tremendous amount of pride in the fire department. When it comes to their apparatus, high expectations in the ability to perform is top priority. Arriving on scene of any fire in the northeastern suburbs of Cincinnati, one can spot a Goshen Township fire truck from a mile away. Why, you may ask? Because all of Goshen Township’s apparatus are painted in, what they call, Goshen green.
In 1976, Goshen Township firefighters did a study to see which color was more visible. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of yellow/green. Since that study, all Goshen trucks are now Goshen green. For years the apparatus was white over green; however, recently the department voted to switch to black over green.
In 2014, Goshen Township Fire Chief Steve Pegram put together a truck committee to decide what the department wanted for its new apparatus. Goshen Township Fire Department covers 34.2 square miles of both hydrated and non-hydrated areas, and with more than 18,000 residents they wanted an apparatus to handle the demand of rural and suburban firefighting.
In 2019, another committee concluded that the 2015 E-ONE Typhoon exceeded their expectations and decided to order another E-ONE. This article will spotlight both of those apparatus.
Engine 18
This 2020 E-ONE Typhoon chassis is powered by a 500-hp X12 Cummins power plant with an Allison transmission. This power helps run the Hale QMax 2000 pump. Goshen Township has quite a few large buildings, and when in the rural setting you may not be able to make room for multiple apparatus. Because of this, the 2,000-gallon-per-minute pump makes sense.
Starting at the front bumper, the E-ONE enthusiast will notice the grill is for an E-ONE Cyclone. The committee clearly liked the upgraded grill on the Typhoon. A front intake with 50 feet of 5-inch hose makes it easy for the operator to connect to the hydrant when nosed in. A 2 ½ discharge with a gated wye is connected to two 100-foot 1 ¾ bumper loads. The roto ray and the vintage spotlights complement the traditional look for this engine company. When talking to the firefighters, they stated the Fire Tech brow light was considerably brighter than the brow light on Engine 19.
Moving to the driver’s side, you will see the pride Goshen Township firefighters take when reloading their hose. Engine 18 carries 3 cross lays; two 200-foot 1 ¾ lines and one 200-foot 2 ½ cross lay that are used frequently during normal fire scene conditions.
At the rear of Engine 18 you will see hose for the more complex fire scenes. 400 feet of 1 ¾ hose helps crews reach those fires when the apparatus must park hundreds of feet away or when the building is too large for the traditional 200-foot cross lay, 400 feet of 2 ½ for those larger fires, and 300 feet of 2-inch hose. Engine 18 also carries a whopping 1,550 feet of 5-inch supply hose.
Cross lays loaded with minute man load. Two 200′ 1 3/4 and one 200′ 2 1/2. Two 100′ 1 3/4 bumper lays used for car fires, trash fires, or small structural fires. Hale Q max 2000 pump mirrors Engine 18’s pump panel. Hale Q max 2000 pump mirrors Engine 19’s pump panel. Rear hose bed. 1550′ of 5-inch supply, 400′ of 1 3/4, 400′ of 2 1/2, 300′ of 2-inch attack hose. Reese hitch connections on all 4 sides for a portable winch.
Engine 19
The 2015 E-ONE Typhoon is almost identical to the newer Engine 18. Most of Engine 18’s features were because of the success of Engine 19. Goshen Township firefighters took what worked well with Engine 19 and carried it over to the new engine. We will go over a few of the differences.
Engine 19 is equipped with a generator. With today’s technology on battery-powered equipment the decision for the need of another generator in the fleet was unnecessary. Engine 19 has a portable winch that can be mounted on all four sides of the apparatus. This is due to Engine 19 being set up as a rescue engine. Engine 18 is mostly set up for structural firefighting. Engine 19 is a five-firefighter cab, whereas Engine 18 is a four-firefighter cab.
Conclusion
The hard work set forth by both truck committees has proven that when you put the time and effort into building an apparatus to fit your needs, it will in return make your job run smoothly in the future. One great advantage to having two engines with similar features is that it creates muscle memory for the operators. Both engines are set up the same. The rescue equipment is set up on the passenger side so the apparatus can be positioned in a manner to keep the crews from going into traffic to get equipment.
Firefighting equipment is on the driver’s side. This coincides with the hydraulic ladder rack on the passenger side. Because of this the ladder rack can stay down on fires and does not block any equipment in the compartments behind the rack. All attack hose is color-coded. This allows the operator to easily know which line needs to be charged by the color the nozzle firefighter calls for. With both vehicles handling the same and the pump panel’s valves in the same position, an operator can quickly adapt to going from one engine to the next with confidence.