The apparatus purchasing committee (APC) provided dealers with its wish list asking if its pumper-ladder (PL) design is doable.
This is the continued story of designing a pumper with longer ground ladders, calling it a pumper-ladder (PL). Years ago, it was called a quad.
A recent interview discussing trends in aerial ladder sales transformed into reevaluating the value of the quad—a once popular pumper style with a notoriously long wheelbase equipped with lots of ground ladders.
When laying out discharges for a new apparatus, APCs should establish the flow required or that may be required for each discharge.
Part 2 continues with ground monitor manufacturers addressing the types of nozzles used, storage, maintenance, vertical and horizontal reaches, words of wisdom, and recommendations.
The topic here is the monitors’ unique level of safety and performance and their fireground advantages that unfortunately can be both misunderstood and underused.
Although the EMS Squad concept sounds logical, it may not be financially feasible based on the TCO projections, including the projected number of responses.
Clifton’s latest purchase is a 2019 4 Guys 1,750-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pumper on a Spartan Gladiator chassis with a 209-inch wheelbase and 20,000-pound front and 31,000-pound rear gross axle ratings. Booster tank capacity is 1,220 gallons of water with a 20-gallon integral foam tank.
Finding a location for an easily accessible preconnect can be a challenge. A bigger challenge is getting an apparatus purchasing committee to acknowledge if there is, or will soon be, a staffing shortage.
In today’s hyperactive political environment, there are several innuendos and even accusations no fire department wants to encounter—especially in the competitive bidding arena. They are restraint of trade and collusion.