Find full coverage of Firehouse World in San Diego this week on Firehouse.com and also on Twitter and Facebook.
There’s a lot of innovative apparatus on the show floor at Firehouse World in San Diego that attendees will see when they attend the show this week and here’s a sneak peek at what’s hot.
Pierce had perhaps one of the most innovative rigs to grace the show floor in a long time. San Diego Fire Department had spec’d and ordered a Pierce custom rescue apparatus for its Lifeguard division. It’s equipped with a crane for cliff rescues.
The apparatus has a very short wheelbase with an all-wheel drive cab and chassis and equipment for paramedics and rescues.
Rear-mount pumpers seemed to be hot this year too with Spartan ERV and Rosenbauer America both having examples of the apparatus on the floor and they seem to have experience a resurgence.
SpartanERV’s example, built for Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., Fire Department has electric valves and rear intakes and discharges.
The Rosenbauer apparatus, built for Henderson, Nev., Fire Department, has Elkhart Brass handwheels for fire valve controls. It also had rear discharges and intake.
E-ONE is on the floor with a brand new, demonstrator pumper with its new Quest cab and chassis decked out with black over red paint scheme. Quest is E-ONE’s newest innovative cab that is proving popular with firefighters.
KME is showing off a Brush Patrol unit, built on a Dodge cab and chassis for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Although the unit has an 84 on it, it looks a lot like an updated Squad 51 shown on the 1970s television show “Emergency.”
HME Ahrens-Fox has a pack of R.A.T.s (Rapid Attack Trucks) on the floor. They’re custom cabs and chassis with very short wheelbases designed for fast response over city streets and navigating tight spots.
Sutphen has a good looking 100-foot mid-mount aerial tower on display headed to Escondido (Calif.) after the show. The SPH 100-foot mid-mount has a shorter wheelbase and over all length for improved maneuverability.
Boise Mobile Equipment has a wildland urban interface demonstrator apparatus built on a four-door Freightliner cab and chassis with four-wheel drive.
Smeal Fire Apparatus has a rear-mount aerial on the show floor featuring the company’s ergonomic, rear slide out hose bed.
SpartanERV also has a tiller aerial for San Francisco on display.
Ferrara Fire Apparatus has a 10-wheel, 3,000-gallon tender on a custom cab and chassis from the San Diego County Fire Department. The 35-foot, 4-inch apparatus has a 1,500 gpm pump and custom two-door cab and chassis. It has a unique 12-inch dump valve on the rear of the apparatus that can expel all the water in the tank in about 90 seconds.
EVI has a very nice custom rescue on display too built on a Spartan custom cab and chassis.
The show floor opens at noon on Tuesday, Jan 27 and remains open until 5 p.m. The floor will reopen at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 28 and close at 3 p.m.
Full Coverage of Firehouse World:
- Photos: Hands-on Training
- Science Needs to Be Incorporated in Modern Firefighting
- Competent Command Essential at Incidents
- Innovative Apparatus on The Show Floor
- Firefighters Face New Challenges Daily
- Eisner Remember, Change Discussed at Firehouse World Opening
- Photos: Day 2 of Firehouse World
- A West Coast Versus East Coast Debate
Ed Ballam
Ed Ballam served as associate editor for Firehouse. He is the assistant chief of the Haverhill Corner, N.H. Fire Department, and a National Registered EMT. He is also a Deputy Forest Fire Warden for the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands. Professionally, he's been a journalist for over 35 years working for a variety of publications, including employment as managing editor of a national fire service trade journal for more than a decade.
