Travis County (TX) ESD No. 1 was seeking to replace a rear-mount aerial ladder quint with a more maneuverable mid-mount model and turned to Sutphen Corp. who built a SL 75 aerial ladder quint for the district.
The end result is a Sutphen SPH 100 foot aerial platform built on a Sutphen Monarch heavy duty custom chassis with a 62-inch extended four-door flat-roof cab.
By Bill Adams When buying a new rig, purchasers can easily spend five figures for a warning light system that is compliant with the National Fire Protection Association NFPA 1901 Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus. Really affluent purchasers might specify...
By Bill Adams Part 1 ended inferring the rear ends of most pumpers are congested work areas. And it questioned whether apparatus manufacturers’ standard locations for chassis and warning lights could hinder fireground operations. This part continues that...
By Bill Adams This article is not intended to disparage, demonize, or criticize fire apparatus purchasers; apparatus and warning light manufacturers; or any entity that governs, regulates, or mandates the design of fire apparatus. It addresses some misconceptions...
By Bill Adams In the industrial and manufacturing world, standardization is making multiple identical products to lower the cost per unit. The concept is embraced by most fire apparatus manufacturers (OEMs); however, it is detested by all but a very few fire...
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....
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...
How does an APC determine what it should purchase? What can the APC compare proposed LED lights to?
Lately the fire service, warning light manufacturers, pundits, commentators, and safety gurus alike have advocated doing something about the glare or distraction of warning lights that people say can, could, may, or might be a cause or a contributing factor of accidents.
This article does NOT address warning lights when responding. However, some comments made could be applicable to that mode. It addresses warning lights used in the blocking-the-right-of-way mode.
By Bill Adams From the July 2019 Fire Engineering: “The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards Council has announced that the information in the NFPA 114 Emergency Response and Responder Safety (ERRS) standards, guides, and recommended practices will be...
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