By Jamie Thompson
FireRescue1 Senior Editor
Featuring a cab-forward design and a more open interior configuration, Pierce unveiled its newest apparatus at FDIC in Indianapolis on Thursday.
The Dash CF’s cab design repositions the engine rearward, allowing for increased driver and officer interior cab space and improved visibility and serviceability.
These innovations, say designers, stem from an approach of creating the truck around the occupants — and not from traditional design concepts.
“It all came from customer input and firefighter input,” said Mike Moore, vice president of business development at Pierce.
“We have close to 12,000 visitors that come through our facility every year, most of whom are firefighters, and we are involved with a lot of industry organizations. We’ve also done a lot of market research.
“The thing we continually hear is ‘give us more room and space in the cab.’”
Usable space
One of the most striking and immediate features you’ll see in the apparatus is the more usable space that has been created thanks to the new design, which expands upon the configuration benefits of the PUC, launched at FDIC in 2007.
The driver and officer seats are positioned farther inboard to provide more shoulder, elbow and hip room, while the flat floor provides increased space to stow turnout gear up front.
This additional space provides an uncluttered “workstation” space for the officer, according to Moore, a need that was highlighted by field market research.
“We wanted to go into the field to see how people stored their gear, what type of gear they have now, the the increase in data terminals, etc.,” Moore said.
“The big issue we kept seeing and hearing over and over again was that the officer doesn’t have enough room to properly prepare on the way to the incident scene.”
Designers set about fixing this in a dramatic way, according to Moore.
“It was a situation where we decided we needed to design trucks around the firefighters,” he said.
“Conventional thinking is the engine needs to go in a certain place, and other parts need to go in specific locations — and what’s left is for the firefighters.
“We decided we needed to turn it around, and give the firefighters what they needed first and then plan the components around them.”
Four other key areas
In addition to more usable space, Pierce focused on four other key areas in the design of the Dash CF: visibility, safety, serviceability and heavy-duty construction.
The single-piece panoramic windshield has been lowered 10 inches for better outward visibility, while the emphasis on safety can be found in the cab firewall that’s constructed of ¼"-thick aluminum plate backed with a welded ½" cross support.
In addition, stair-stepped cab steps have been moved lower to the ground, for easier entry and exit.
Serviceability-wise, designers said ease of maintenance was at the forefront of their minds, with:
- Integrated metal wire raceways with removable covers to provide simple access to cab harnesses for easier troubleshooting
- Engine and transmission checks and fill points that are accessible through a door on the driver’s side of the chassis, while standing on the ground
- Primary power distribution containing relays, fuses and solid-state modules that are accessible via a drop down panel at the officer’s feet
Moore said a critical part in designing the new truck was involving firefighters themselves directly in the process; representatives from four different fire departments formed part of a focus group to guide and advise the engineers.
“They already had a mock up done of the apparatus — just with the cab component — and with that we were able to see the kind of the direction we were going,” said Division Chief Jimm Walsh, of the Winter Park, Fla., Fire-Rescue Department, at a media preview of the new truck ahead of FDIC.
“But the most important part about that was they’d actually really considered what we as an industry had been talking about, some of the concerns we had had, such as visibility in the apparatus and limited space in the officer’s area.
“It’s really neat to see now that the finished product is in front of us that all of our input did actually get used.”