Fire Chief

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Understanding Vehicle Center of Gravity 

By Chris Cavette, Senior Editor

In the July 2007 issue of In Service Online, we discussed why it is important to understand vehicle weight ratings. That isn’t enough, however. Departments also need to understand how the distribution of that weight determines a vehicle center of gravity, which can affect vehicle performance and safety....

Command & Control 

By Chris Cavette

Department have found many advantages to purchasing a dedicated unit to take over some critical functions at an incident....

Glendale Finds Faithful Responder with Blue Ox 

Mitch Kelsey

In July 2003, the Glendale (Ariz.) Police Department formed a committee to explore buying a vehicle that would meet a variety of communications needs....

Spaulding County Designs Service Facility on Wheels 

The Spaulding County (Ga.) Fire Department designed a support services unit that gives it a mobile service facility with a stand-up interior workspace....

Heartland EVT Group is Off and Running 

The Heartland Emergency Apparatus Technicians Association is now fully organized and has scheduled its first event for later this year. All emergency vehicle mechanics and technicians in Kansas and the surrounding states are invited to join....

Florida EVT Group to Host Fall Training Symposium 

Fire mechanics and emergency vehicle technicians can prepare for the EVT Certification Commission tests at the Fall Training Symposium in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Oct. 22–26. A special test site will be offered on the last day....

ASE Tests on a Computer 

Did you know that you can take the ASE qualification tests on a computer instead of the traditional way with paper and pencil? There are advantages and disadvantages to each method....

Waterous Offers Information on CAFS 

The latest issue of the Siren newsletter from Waterous includes some good articles and information about compressed-air foam systems....

Darley Acquires Ohler Pump 

W.S. Darley & Co. has acquired all the assets of Ohler Pump Co. of Janesville, Iowa. The purchase allows Darley to offer several pumps for a variety of applications....

Vehicle Weight Rating Update 

In the July issue of In Service Online, we emphasized the importance of understanding vehicle weight ratings. One of our readers points out that it is equally important to understand state and local weight laws....

Dodge Offers Medium-Duty Ram Chassis 

The new Dodge Ram 4500 and 5500 models for 2008 are designed with gross vehicle weight ratings of 14,000 pounds and 19,500 pounds respectively. They can be specified with a diesel engine and an automatic transmission and are suitable for a variety of fire and rescue applications....

Ferrara Introduces the Inundator 

Ferrara displayed its Inundator pumper at the Texas A&M Industrial Firefighting School in July. The pumper can deliver up to 3,000gpm from draft and can generate even higher flowrates through its three monitors and four large-diameter discharges....

Feds Order Mobile Evacuation Buses 

Government officials ordered seven specially designed buses to handle mass-casualty incidents around the Washington, D.C., area. The new Mobile Evacuation Bus was designed by Sartin Services of High Point, N.C., and debuted at a press conference at the Capitol building....

Firefighter Killed While Loading Hose 

A volunteer firefighter in Illinois was killed while picking up hose at the scene of a vehicle fire along an Interstate highway....

Federal Signal Makes Changes in Fire Rescue Group 

Federal Signal Corp. announced that Peter Guile replaced Marc Gustafson as president of E-ONE. The change was effective July 17. Gustafson is leaving the company....

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