Save Money and Fight Fires (or something like that)

THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, HAS DIRECTED the Fire Chief Laura Knapp to cut spending 10% over the next three years.  So she has come up with a plan that the City Council loves to hear.  So much so that yesterday morning (Tuesday) they unanimously approved the plan and gave her the go-ahead to start implementing it.

The city has 11 fire stations and Knapp plans to replace the fire engines in three of them with "Quick Response Vehicles" (QRV's), described by the fire department as "basically a Dodge chassis with a box on the back" for a 300-gallon water tank and compressed-air foam system.

This GRFD drawing looks an awful lot like THIS ONE:

SGVN photo

The selling points for this conversion are first of all, replacement costs of $873,000 for all three units compared to a comparable price for one real fire engine. 

Secondly, the QRV's will only carry two firefighters instead of the three or four currently riding on the real fire engines.  This will allow the department to operate with 12 fewer firefighters, music to a councilman's ears.  Twelve is the magic number because the SAFER grant that the FD received to fund 12 positions runs out in three years and apparently the city does not have plans to retain those slots.

Chief Knapp projects a total savings of $21 million over the next 15 years once the plan goes into effect.

The Grand Rapids Press tells us:

Knapp hopes they will help the fire department maintain existing service levels in the face of coming staffing cuts.

About 89 percent of current fire-service calls are handled by a single unit, Knapp said. The "quick-response" units could handle those calls, she said.

"We need to better align our resources with these single-unit calls to ensure our performance is maintained (as we reduce firefighters to cut costs)," Knapp said. "Right now we don’t have a lot of flexibility in our deployment. The (‘quick-response vehicle’) is the answer for our current rigid operational system."

The firefighters themselves aren't convinced yet that fewer fire engines and fewer FF's will translate into "maintaining existing service levels."  William Smith, president of the Local tells the GR Press,  "If they’re rolled out, we’ll do what we’re told to do. There’s a question of how effective they’ll be."

WZZM-TV filed this brief video report:

Full report in the Grand Rapids Press HERE.
Local President Smith speaks more about their skepticism HERE.

Firegeezer notes:  These things became popular back in the great recession of the late 1970's.  Back then they were called "mini-pumpers" and were introduced with the same promises we're hearing from Grand Rapids.  Several dozens of fire departments jumped into the concept, but within three years they were all back to Plan A.  Why do people think it will magically start working now?  Or is this just a gimmick to get the budgeteers to turn their focus onto another agency?

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Four Firefighters Included in Injury Count

Update, 9:30 am Eastern:  Alcohol said to be determining factor.  Scroll down.

CHICAGO FIRE DEPARTMENT ENGINE 62 was involved in a collision Tuesday evening around 6:23 pm that injured ten people including four firefighters.  The engine was responding to a medical call when it approached an intersection and slowed to look for traffic.  All cars in the intersection had stopped, so the pumper proceded into the intersection.  Without warning or reason, one of the stopped cars suddenly started forward and pulled into the path of the fire engine causing a destructive collision as the engine T-boned the right side of the car.

WSBT-TV image

The two adults and three children in the car were all trapped and had to be extricated.  They were all transported in serious condition.  A sixth passenger was only slightly injured.  The four firefighters were also transported in good to fair condition.

Police are investigating and still trying to find out why the 18-yr.-old driver suddenly started driving the car when he did.  The intersection is controlled by a 4-way stop sign.  Some witnesses say that the engine had its lights on, but they did not hear the siren.

WLS-TV prepared this video report from the scene:

Chicago Tribune has the STORY.
The Sun-Times has more plus photos HERE.

Update, 9:30 am Eastern:
The Chicago Tribune is now reporting that alcohol is suspected to be a contributing factor in the crash.  The Tribune writes:

Authorities say they suspect alcohol played a role in the collision between a Chicago fire truck and a carload of people in the Far South Side that injured 10 people.

None of the victims — including three children and four Chicago firefighters — suffered life-threatening injuries when the truck, responding to a fire call, collided with a mid-size sedan at Halsted and 128th streets, police said. A female passenger did suffer a broken neck, authorities said.

One source said the sedan's driver, a man, had a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit. A second source said police were seeking felony charges against the driver. Both sources requested anonymity because they weren't cleared to discuss the matter publicly.

A police spokesman said he was awaiting further information and declined to comment.

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The Signs Say to Not Drive Into Flood Waters

CHRISTMAS DAY IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, THIS YEAR will be remembered mainly by the widespread flooding through the area.  And the people in the northeast suburb of Eltham will remember it as the day the firetruck drove into the flood waters.  Despite the signs and the S.O.P.'s to the contrary, this tanker driver for the Victoria Country Fire Authority misjudged the depth of the water.

The CFA officers were not amused and have opened an investigation into the performance of the driver who is one of the most experienced operators in the department.  The Herald Sun is reporting:

Research Fire Brigade Capt Neville Stewart, who was not driving the truck, said the incident happened so quickly. "We weren't expecting it and then we just had to keep going, we couldn't stop it," he said.

The CFA's northwest metropolitan region acting operations manager, Tony O'Day, said the driver was one of the most experienced in the brigade. "It's an error of judgment," Mr O'Day said. "Once they started driving through the water, they were committed and made a decision to keep driving rather than stop. It's certainly not standard behaviour. We don't encourage it."

The crew got itself in deep trouble when it misjudged a signpost and sized up the water incorrectly.

Mr O'Day said people were always told not to drive through floodwaters because of the dangers, and the firefighters should have known better. He said the crew regretted the decision. "They are fairly shaken," Mr O'Day said.

Firegeezer got a kick out of the windshield wipers continuing to operate while under water.  And as the tanker comes up out of the water, watch the captain open the cab door and let the water run out.
Thanks to the Gnome Handler for finding this gem.

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Truck Crash While Responding

A NIPISSING TOWNSHIP (Ontario) VFD FIREFIGHTER died Wednesday morning when the fire engine he was driving went off the road and rolled over, trapping him in the wreckage.

Firefighter Paul Nelson, 21, of Callander was the only passenger in the truck that was responding to a working house fire.  Ontario police say that the road conditions at the time were icy and covered with snow slush.

The North Bay Nugget reports:

Nipissing Township Mayor Pat Haufe said the 21-year-old joined the fire department little more than a year ago. He said Nelson was eager to get involved and was a member of the community's fire committee.

Haufe said the township's thoughts and prayers are with Nelson's family. He said the tragedy has had a devastating and shocking impact on the entire community, particularly Nelson's fellow firefighters.

Nelson, who was alone in the pumper truck, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, about 35 kilometres west of Powassan. A portion of the highway was closed for most of the day.

The investigation into the cause of him leaving the roadway is still ongoing.  The structure fire that had four FD's on the scene was a vacant house.

Hat tip:  Mark D.

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At An Intersection …. Again

BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ENGINE 1 WAS INVOLVED in a vehicle collision while responding to an emergency call Monday night.  The accident occurred at an intersection around 9:15 pm when a car traveling on the cross street ran into the engine which had its lights and siren activated.

WGRZ-TV

The crash left the four firefighters with minor injuries as well as the driver of the car which was severely crumpled in the front end.

WIVB-TV

The firefighters immediately began first aid procedures on the civilian before they were all transported.  One FF remained in the hospital overnight while the other three were released.  However they will not be returning to work right away.  The civilian also has non-life threatening injuries.

WIVB-TV prepared this video report from the scene:

The accident investigation is continuing this morning.  No cause or charges have been decided yet.

The Buffalo News has the STORY.

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Plenty of Finger-Pointing Going On

FOR THE PAST NINE MONTHS, SINCE MARCH a brand new $1 million ladder truck has been parked in a Quebec City, Quebec, firehouse due to a squabble over training and licensing issues.  The new truck is a tiller truck and the first one Quebec has had in over 20 years, so the expertise in operating it has been lost over time.

The fire department sent one of their drivers down to the U. S. to receive enough training that he could come back and instruct the other drivers on the technique.  But then some bureaucrat in the city government proclaimed that since it is a tractor-trailer rig, then all the operators need to hold a Class 1 truck drivers license.  That immediately brought the issue into the realm of the firefighters union who said, in so many French words, Baloney!

The firefighters have no problem with training on the tiller, but to insist that they have to take and pass the commercial truck driver's test is unneccesary.  The Emergency Vehicle driving license that they currently hold is considered good enough for all emergency vehicles.

The view from the safest seat in the fire department.  (TVA Nouvelles)

Now the stalemate is on while the fire chief is telling the citizens that the truck will go into service in February, 11 months after taking delivery.  The firefighters say that's fine, as long as they don't have to pass a Provincial test to do it.

Stay tuned. 

TVA Nouvelles has the STORY.

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Austrian-Based Firetruck Builder Lands Dream Contract

ROSENBAUER AMERICA ANNOUNCED IN A press release Monday that the corporation has landed a contract worth $318.8 million to build 1,125 fire vehicles of all types for the Saudi Arabian government.

Lyons, SD – December 19, 2011 – Rosenbauer, the fire-equipment industry's leading manufacturer, has won an order from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of the Interior to supply fire engineering equipment worth a total of $318.8 million US. 1,125 vehicles are to be supplied, of various types and for various operational purposes, as are boats and other civil defense equipment.

Rosenbauer's Lyons, South Dakota plant

Due to the rapid increase in the Kingdom's population over the past few decades, it has been decided to launch an additional expansion program for the fire protection sector. This will involve building and fitting out 180 new fire-stations, mainly in urban areas. As well as this, some 6,000 extra firemen have been recruited and are currently undergoing training.

Thanks to the highly satisfactory order trend over the past few months – and in contrast to the negative developments in the market as a whole – capacity utilization at our production facilities is assured for the next two years", comments the Rosenbauer Group's Executive Board Chairman Dr. Dieter Siegel.

Besides water tankers built to European Standards, the supply contract also comprises pumpers and rescue vehicles manufactured to US Standards. In addition, heavy recovery vehicles, aerial ladders, boats and hydraulic rescue equipment have been ordered.

506 of these vehicles are to be built in Lyons, SD, with the balance to be built in Leonding, Austria; Karlsruhe, Germany; and Madrid, Spain. Non-Rosenbauer-specific items such as boats are to be subcontracted to specialist vendors. The order as a whole is to be fulfilled in several part-deliveries spread across the next 30 months, i.e. through mid-2014.

Read the entire press release HERE.
Rosenbauer America WEBSITE.

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One of our readers, Tom Parquette of Branson, Missouri, is also a fire historian, researching notable fire tragedies in our history.  Recently he prepared and sent us this timely and interesting article about another tunnel fire engine with two front ends.  He tells us:

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Nenad Illisic's report (HERE) regarding the delivery of the Croatian Merkur Tru ZE1 dual cab apparatus for use in the Croatian Tunel Ucka brought to mind one of my favorite studies in fire history:

The Mont Blanc Tunnel Fire of 1999

And the Development of the Janus 4000 Fire Engine

by Tom Parquette

The Mont Blanc tunnel runs between France and Italy. Opened in 1965 the tunnel operated for years with minor fire incidents which were largely handled by the vehicle operators before arrival of any departmental response units. The Mont Blanc Tunnel is about 7.2 miles in length and some 28 feet wide, two lanes. The operation of the tunnel as an infrastructure facility was handled by two national government agencies given that the border of France and Italy was in the tunnel itself. A tunnel authority functioned on the France side and a tunnel authority functioned on the Italian side of the tunnel (border). This included fire departments operating at each end of the tunnel as well.

Italian entrance

March 24, 1999 a Belgian reefer truck entered the tunnel and proceeded until the driver sensed something wrong with his truck and stopped to check it out. At that time the truck burst into flames.

Wikipedia has an excellent (and very accurate) synopsis of this event at this link; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Blanc_Tunnel which, according to my historical research, does fairly represent this event.

A June 30 1999 report by the French Office of Interior regarding the tunnel fire http://www.firetactics.com/MONTBLANCFIRE1999.htm details the status and condition reports of various infrastructure and responders as either deficient or contributory to the severity of the event. It is posited that the fire continued for some 50 hours and prevented entry into the tunnel itself for some 5 days.

I won't repeat what is contained in these reports here (to avoid lengthy repetition) but the study is fascinating and I believe, overall, the casual observer is left with what really was a disconnect between responding authorities (radio frequencies were not compatible between the French and Italian resources) and the use and design elements of the ventilation equipment designed into the tunnel itself.

The usual finger pointing and blame laying took place, of course. In 2005, some 6 years following the disaster, 13 were convicted and sentenced for various 'crimes' and or omissions of responsibility leading to the death of 39 persons including the lead fire commander of, I believe, the Italian 'side'.

See conviction press here: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/27/world/europe/27iht-tunnel.html

The University of Manchester did perform a thorough post event study which is quite informative here: http://www.mace.manchester.ac.uk/project/research/structures/strucfire/CaseStudy/HistoricFires/InfrastructuralFires/mont.htm

During the review, refitting and restructuring of the Mont Blanc Tunnel, it's operation and support systems, the newly created authority comprised of French and Italians actually began working together as a separate entity (the ATMB i.e., Auto Routes Mont Blanc), and contracts were let to design and manufacture apparatus which would be effective and not fall victim to the problems experienced in 1999. The result of that engineering was the BAI MAN Janus 4000 Bi-front. The Janus (for the two headed Greek God of doors and entrances) is a bit larger than the Croatian model and is designed as an attack vehicle as opposed to the passenger/rescue function of the Croatian unit. 2 of the Janus units are in service. My information has it that 3 were actually constructed, but I don't know where the third ended up.

The BAI Janus 4000 Bi-Front was designed and built by BAI of Italy following the 1999 tragedy. The tunnel is over 7 miles long and fire equipment and personnel couldn't reach the victims for two days. The BAI Janus 4000 is really cool. Janus, of course was a Greek god of doors and entrances I think and had two heads. Hence, the name.

It is designed with two complete control cabs as you can see in the photos. The apparatus can travel up to 120 mph in either direction without turning around. It can also maneuver sideways and diagonally like a crab in tight spaces. It is fully pressurized. It carries full fire gear along with a 4,000-gallon litre water tank and 500-gallon foam tank. Each unit costs the US equivalent of $560,000 in 1999. I'm told something on this order was designed, built and employed in the tunnels between New York and New Jersey in the 1920s but haven't been able to really substantiate that. There are 3 of the BAI Janus 4000 Bi-Front units in existence.

………. Tom Parquette, Branson, Missouri

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At an intersection ….. again.

A CHANNELVIEW FIRE DEPARTMENT (Houston area) fire engine collided with a pickup truck at an intersection in Bayview, Texas, Saturday afternoon.  The engine was responding on an assist call to a working house fire when it was struck in the front right corner by a pickup truck in an intersection.

KHOU-TV image

The driver of the pickup along with a female and one child that were also in the cab were airlifted to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.  The three firefighters on the engine were uninjured, however the pumper had extensive damage to the front end.  The pickup truck appears to be totaled.

KHOU-TV filed this video report from the scene:

At the time of this posting there was no information yet on the cause of the accident.

Contributed by Firehat, Patrick Mahoney.

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Updated reports - One Fatality

Update #1 -scroll down.
Update #2 – more details released.

A FIRETRUCK WAS INVOLVED in a collision with an automobile late Thursday afternoon in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

WGAL-TV

WGAL-TV is reporting:  The crash happened near Holly Pike/Route 34 and Old York Road/Highway 174. Traffic is affected and is being directed around the accident.  Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Michelle Davis said the truck collided with a car, killing the driver of that car. No one in the firetruck was hurt.

There has not yet been disclosure on what fire department's vehicle was involved, or what type of unit it is.

Update #1, 5:30 pm Eastern:
The firetruck was responding to a vehicle fire and passing through an intersection around 4 pm Eastern where the wreck occurred.  The driver of the car was an elderly woman who was killed in the crash.

Update #2:
WGAL-TV is reporting:

State police believe a Ford Freestyle was traveling west on Route 174 approaching the intersection of Route 34. A Mount Holly Springs fire (engine) was traveling north on Route 34 responding to a call for a vehicle fire on Interstate 81. As the fire truck approached the intersection with lights and sirens activated it collided with the Ford, hitting the driver's side of the vehicle and killing the driver of that car.

The driver of the fire engine was transported with unspecified injuries.  Everyone was wearing seatbelts in both vehicles.

WGAL-TV filed this video report:

Hat tip:  Carmine S.

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