By Bob Barraclough
On the subject of apparatus, we are currently mired in the muck of Environmental Protection Agency requirements (maximum engine emissions for 2010 and 2014), National Fire Protection Association changes from 2009 (and soon to be 2014), a hefty thirst by the federal government to have a say in apparatus specifications and requirements, the instability of apparatus builders and, oh yes, the world depression, which has reduced the money supply, municipal budgets and, therefore, the number of truck orders. Any two or more of the above events could result in serious changes in the way we design, manufacture and purchase apparatus.
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| This is the way we did it in the old days. Much has changed since then. |
Time after time it has been proven that private industry, without strict government control, works best. Taking the above items one by one, you can almost see a pattern developing to bring the fire apparatus industry under federal jurisdiction. After all, it would put an additional 10,000 people on the federal payroll, while the number of knowledgeable people having an input into what fire departments are able to buy could be less than a handful (just like it was in World War II). This is not a pretty thought, as a lot of folks have given their time, talent and expense money to get us regulations that make sense and that we can live with.
After having spent over 50 years in and around the fire service as a firefighter, a fire marshal (U.S. Navy aircraft carrier fire chief) and an apparatus and equipment manufacturer, I surely do not want to see more government control. So here are a few thoughts as to where we will be with apparatus (either by regulation or by customer demand) in 2020. And, we can get there without the feds interfering with a system that is working just fine.
There is no question that our apparatus have gotten too big, too heavy and too expensive.
Pumpers that carry 1,000 gallons of water, a 1,000-gpm pump and all the equipment required by the NFPA 1901 apparatus standard can be purchased for around $225,000. You can also get the same amount of water and the same pump size on little more spiffy chassis for $500,000.
Builders can squeeze 2,200 gallons of water on a single-axle chassis and 4,500 gallons on a tandem. The trim of the cab and chassis, the number and expense of the “geegaws,” as well as the amount of equipment to be supplied with the trucks, move the cost from the lower to the higher end of the bid price.
I think the cost of apparatus will be controlled – as it always has been – first, by the price the builder and his dealer have to charge to stay in business and second, by the amount of dollars the buyers can gather together to pay for the package. It seems the less affluent larger cities will have to cut more money from their budgets, and that means fewer firefighters or reduced pensions, salaries or equipment purchases.
Even in major cities, equipment purchases are dropping. In Los Angeles the fire apparatus replacement budget is taking a huge hit, falling from $25 million this year to $6 million next year. And Los Angeles fire officials say they have been told it will be reduced even further the following year.
Nobody likes to look someone in the eye and say, “Your salary is being cut,” or, “Your job has been eliminated.” Fire trucks don’t talk back or have mortgage payments or career paths. Guess who gets the short straw.
What does this lead to? I see smaller everything. Trucks, engines, transmissions, pumps will all be reduced. Fuel costs will be looked at as well as billing for all runs. Departments are scrambling for revenue producers, something they have never had to do before.
This could lead to the changes mentioned earlier. Everyone will have to pitch in, or you will have no choice; it will be a new rig specified by the feds and built by GM.
To avoid this, I’ll offer some thoughts as to what will be happening and who will be supporting it. The number of components, systems and concepts in today’s rigs far exceeds the allotment for space in this column. So next month, we’ll tackle the important items in each section of an apparatus.
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 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 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.
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