Features
NFPA-Mandated Flash Rates: Fast, Slow, or Not at All?

NFPA-Mandated Flash Rates: Fast, Slow, or Not at All?

By Bill Adams This article is not an accusation that the writers of the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 1901 Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus purposely promulgate requirements that are conflicting, divergent, or confusing. They just appear to be....

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Darley PSM Pump Surging in Popularity

Darley PSM Pump Surging in Popularity

By Jason S. Darley The Darley PSM 1500 Pump has continued to surge in popularity with many fire departments. Both the Detroit (MI) Fire Department and Boston (MA) Fire Department have been featured in recent Darley “We Switched” advertising campaigns as new Darley...

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NFPA-Mandated LED Lightbars: Fact or Fallacy?

NFPA-Mandated LED Lightbars: Fact or Fallacy?

By Bill Adams A fact is a verifiable truth; fiction is not. A politically correct way of dodging the truth is to call a statement a fallacy. A fallacy can be defined as a misconception, a myth, sometimes a mistake, even a fairytale and “perhaps it’s something you...

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Grab Handle Negligence?

Grab Handle Negligence?

By Bill Adams In the early 1980s, a New England firefighter fell off a rig and eventually died from his injuries. His family successfully sued the fire apparatus manufacturer that built the apparatus. It was a custom pumper with an open canopy cab that featured a...

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Transverse Hose Storage

Transverse Hose Storage

Transverse hose storage for handlines has been around since the late 1940s. Commonly called crosslays and mattydales, they’re usually located immediately above or recessed into the top of a midship-mounted pump enclosure. Some are found on front bumper extensions and on the rear step–also known as the tailboard or more politically correct as the rear work platform. They all feature the principle of deploying the hose from either side of the rig. All are loaded from the top. It is irrelevant if the hose is preconnected. What is important is ensuring the intended hose fits, it is stored at a workable height, and can be deployed as intended. Adequate purchasing specifications will ensure so.

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NFPA 1901 & FAMA Signs: Sensible or Nonsensical? Part 2

NFPA 1901 & FAMA Signs: Sensible or Nonsensical? Part 2

By Bill Adams Part 1 illustrated this writer’s opinion that the requirement for and installation of “warning signs” on fire apparatus could be scrutinized. This part further investigates the whys and wherefores of providing signage. There is no intent to disparage any...

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Darley Builds CAFS Quick-Attack Truck for East Avon, NY

Darley Builds CAFS Quick-Attack Truck for East Avon, NY

By Alan M. Petrillo East Avon (NY) Fire Department always was a believer in equipping its apparatus with foam systems, especially for industrial applications and for motor vehicle fires, but hesitated to get into compressed air foam systems (CAFS) until a new board of...

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