Fire Company proposes engine replacement (January 16, 2008)

Firefighters recently presented their case for the purchase of a new, $385,000 pumper truck that could more easily traverse the unique terrain and difficult areas of Schooley's Mountain while meeting current safety standards. Among the points presented to the Township Committee were:

Current Engine 3-2 Pumper is 20 years old (at the time of proposed replacement)

Planned Replacement was included in the October 2006 five year plan review.
Replacement is necessary now to maintain an ongoing replacement plan and to avoid the need to replace 2 pumpers in the same year as happened in 2002.

Engine 3-2 is considered a Specialty piece of apparatus. It incorporates:
- 4 wheel drive for hilly, narrow and unimproved roads/driveways
- Easier access to flag lots/residences/fields
- Short Wheelbase & overall length
- Electric winch
- Current engine can only carry max. of 3 FF which does not comply with 2 in, 2 out rules
- Cannot ride outside of vehicle

Vehicle Replacement would also include Brush 3-3 which is obsolete and 40 years old.

Besides improved and mandated safety features, the new engine would include a Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) which:

- makes water 3 - 5 times more effective
- The proposed 750 gallons of water to be carried is the equivalent of carrying 2250 – 3750 gallons of water with CAFS
- Reduces the need to purchase another tanker
- CAFS and FF safety
            + Lighter hoses – reduced manpower
            + Helps to prevent flashover and rekindles

The Township is presently developing the capital budget for 2008, which will determine when this pumper will be designed and bid.

An article from the Observer Tribune follows:

 
New fire truck would replace aging vehicles


Wednesday, January 23, 2008 4:17 PM EST

WASHINGTON TWP. –  Firefighters have made their case for purchase of a new, $385,000 pumper truck that could more easily traverse difficult areas and would meet modern safety standards.

Volunteer firefighter officials have set their sights on a new vehicle for 2008, targeting a truck with a commercial chassis, four-wheel drive and a compressed air foam system.

A trio of Washington Township Fire Department (WTFD) officials laid out their plans to replace two aging pieces of equipment with one $385,000 pumper at the Township Committee workshop on Wednesday, Jan. 16.

Keith Heimburg, the former chief and current engineer  of the Schooleys Mountain Fire Company, was joined by current Chief Bob Carey and Kurt Wanner, the WTFD deputy chief.

“The truck we are replacing is the only four wheel drive this side of the mountain,” said Heimburg.

He said the proposed purchase is part of a five-year replacement cycle previously agreed to by the township.

One of the trucks it will replace is a 1969 brush truck that was obsolete according to modern safety standards.

“It was home grown, entirely member built on a truck chassis,” Heimburg said.

Five Firefighters

The new vehicle would accommodate five firefighters with self-contained breathing apparatus backpacks. It would also replace Engine 3-2, a 20-year old pumper that has some of the same features sought in a new truck.

“Our current truck has limited water capacity and trouble going up hills,” said Heimburg. “It’s not a first response truck. It’s a specialty apparatus, where the four wheel drive can be used on narrow, unimproved roads or for helicopter med-evac meetings in the middle of fields.”

Wanner said the foam system would be invaluable.

“With foam you can quickly knock down a fire without as much water, which reduces the amount of damage that water alone does to the home,” Wanner said.

The Fairmount Fire Company has the only other compressed air foam system vehicle, although simple foam, which doesn’t reduce water consumption as much as compressed air, is available on other trucks.

The department adopted a five-year plan for replacements after needing two large engines in 2002. The trio told committee members that the next large purchase isn’t expected until 2012.

The last large vehicle purchased by the department cost $379,000 five years ago. Because it was a custom chassis vehicle, officials estimate it would cost more than $500,000 at today’s prices.

The obsolete 3-2 pumper can only carry a maximum of three firefighters, which does not comply with fire safety standards that call for two firemen fighting a fire while two others standby.

“We have to have four on the scene and this new truck can roll out with full compliment,” Heimburg said. “If firefighters arrive in a private vehicle, they wouldn’t have their air packs with them.”

“The buzzword for me is safety,” said Wanner. “These men are volunteers, not getting paid and they are putting their lives on the line.”

A final decision on the requested purchase will be made during the 2008 budget process, which is underway.

“As for cost questions, I don’t ever want you to settle, and place the town and the firefighters at risk,” said Committeeman Kevin Nedd.

Article from the Daily Record follows.

02/12/08 - Posted from the Daily Record newsroom

Wanted: New fire truck for Schooley's Mountain company in Washington Twp.

Chief of Washington Twp. company says 2 engines have become obsolete

BY MEGHAN VAN DYK
DAILY RECORD
 

WASHINGTON TWP. -- Parked inside the small fire company garage on Schooley's Mountain Road is a fire truck that was never meant to be a fire truck.

Volunteers built and installed equipment on the 1969 Ford 250 heavy duty four-wheel-drive unit with a customized Reading utility body and a 200-galloon booster tank and portable 225-gallon-per-minute pump in the summer of 1969 to save money, according to engineer Keith Heimburg.

Brush 3-3, the truck's name, was designed to get to small, off-the-road brush and field fires quickly, but it was not meant to fight the type of fires that occur today, Heimburg said.

Forty years later, the department is finally ready to trade it, and a slightly newer, but just as obsolete 20-year-old engine, for a single truck to perform the duties of both.

"I think we've got our money's worth out of that truck," Schooley's Mountain Fire Chief Bob Carey told the township committee. "It's obsolete, and it's also pretty unsafe to drive."

The company is looking for a vehicle with four-wheel-drive and a short-wheel base so it can maneuver the township's hills and curves easily and a compressed air foam system because the township does not have reliable hydrants.

Schooley's Mountain Fire Co. requested $385,000 to purchase the type of truck that they feel best suits their needs.

The company's latest truck was purchased in late 2002 for $379,000. Engine 3-1, as it is called, is a larger engine that rolls out on the majority of fire calls. The company also has Quint 3-9, an aerial ladder truck with a high water capacity, that was purchased in 1997.

The township's three companies developed a plan to purchase new equipment, staggering big-ticket items like trucks two years apart. The companies aim to replace trucks after using them for 20 years, when their ISO safety ratings typically plummet because they no longer fit National Fire Protection Association requirements.

This year, it's Schooley's Mountain's turn, but they requested the funds with a bit of hesitance after Mayor Tracy Tobin asked every department to cut spending in the beginning of his term.

"We are cognizant of the budget issues," Heimburg said.

Heimburg said the company should be able to get a truck that meets its needs, but is reasonably priced.

"We are taxpayers, too," he said.

The council responded positively to the company's request at a recent budget meeting.

"Ensuring the safety of our volunteer fire-fighters is our utmost concern," committeeman Howard Popper said.

Committeman Kevin Walsh agreed, adding that the truck would be in use for the next 20 years.