Being around the fire service for all of my adult life, I have witnessed a great deal of change in fire apparatus design over the past 30 or so years.
We all, at one time or another, have taken most of these changes for granted.
But due to the hard work of all the individuals that take part in the NFPA 1901 Apparatus Committees and promote changes for firefighter safety, improvements have been made that really make a difference.
The Fire Apparatus Manufacturers' Association (FAMA) recently released a pictorial study showing all of the design improvements over the past 25 years.
We have seen cabs become fully enclosed, which provide heat and air conditioning and rehab for firefighters. We now enjoy better comfort, communication and safety, even though it was fun but dangerous riding the back step.
Tilt cabs are now made of aluminum and stainless steel, which offers better maintenance access, lower weight, better payload capacity, and durability. Sirens and air horns have been taken off the roof area and placed lower on the bumper, greatly improving communication in the cab as well as reducing noise.
Stopping distances
Over the past 25 years, air disc brakes have been installed to prevent brake fade and reduce stopping distances, while auxiliary braking devices are now available to reduce wear and tear.
Other highlights include:
• Reflective striping around the perimeter of all apparatus, and chevron striping in the rear of apparatus as well as compartment shelving and open doors.
• Greater use of LED lighting that reduces power consumption and bulb replacement intervals, and four lighting zones that cover all four sides of a vehicle.
• Roll–up compartments, rear-mounted pumpers that help promote a different way of doing business at the scene of a fire or accident scene, and more compartment space, which all have the primary purpose of keeping firefighters off the street and out of incoming traffic.
In addition, let's not forget better designed, red seat belts. However, I still feel strongly that no matter what type of seat belts you have and what color they are, the officer is still responsible for making sure all are belted in before the vehicle moves. Which brings up another point — we have seen in the past few years front and side air bags as well as roll stability control devices installed. While I am all for these great safety improvements, it must be stressed that it doesn't give the driver the okay to still drive faster to the scene because they are installed. Common sense still has to prevail.
In recent times we have seen a new word in the fire service evolve — ergonomics, the scientific study of work and equipment, and how it affects the worker in regards to comfort and fatigue. To this end, we have seen lower hose beds being designed, some hydraulically operated, greatly reducing back strain for firefighters. Also, electric or hydraulic ladder racks now bring ladders to ground level for easy removal from the vehicles.
These are just some of the developments that FAMA has recorded in its study on manufacturers' design changes.
The last several years has seen a wealth of improvements from all of the fire apparatus manufacturers. It seems that they are all competing to build the safest type of fire apparatus, which I think is a healthy competition, and something I hope that they continue to do in the future.
Everyone will always have their favorite manufacturer, and there is nothing wrong with competitive bidding, as long as they all have one common goal in mind — getting firefighters safely to and from the emergency scene.
Just remember that when you design your next vehicle, not only make it functional for your needs, but make it safe for your firefighters to operate.
