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...
By Bill Adams At the FDIC International 2019, several apparatus manufacturers addressed both physical and gaseous carcinogens in crew cabs. Noteworthy were introductions in compartmentation by both REV’s E-ONE and Rosenbauer-America. I am totally in favor of...
By Bill Adams Pundits and commentators expound on the firematic benefits of using L-shaped booster tanks on pumpers. Apparatus manufacturers (OEMs) promote rigs with “New York City style” low hosebeds. (See Apparatus Purchasing: FDNY-Style Hosebeds,...
By Bill Adams All the purchasing specification said was, “The bumper shall be 95 inches wide with 45-degree corners and side plates.” Unless the reader is the preferred dealer who wrote the document, that statement has little to no intrinsic value. It’s possible the...
By Bill Adams Many fire departments enjoy little to no oversight by political subdivisions that provide taxpayer financing for their apparatus purchases. In particular, volunteer entities often purchase what they want from who they want without political recourse or...
By Bill Adams Sandbagging is a term often heard when playing cards and sports. It's a term that isn’t necessarily deceitful, although it can be. In the world of fire apparatus purchasing, sandbagging happens all the time, although it’s not always advertised, promoted,...
By Bill Adams “Dimmable Warning Lights” is a misleading title. I originally thought the proposed changes to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus were to allow dimming warning lights in the blocking the right-of-way...
By Bill Adams Mentioning warning lights and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 1901) Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus in the same sentence might elicit emotional and occasional irrational statements from firefighters, the NFPA safety gurus (not a...
Purchasers should consider working closely with more than one qualified vendor when laying out compartments. Ideas and suggestions are free for the asking.
By Bill Adams Contrary to popular belief and the ramblings of pundits and commentators including myself, there is no single “best way” to assemble an apparatus purchasing committee (APC). Many so-called industry experts tout biased opinions expounding on the past...
By Bill Adams During the apparatus purchasing process, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, is the accepted “bible” for fire departments and apparatus manufacturers (OEMs). Unfortunately, both can interpret it...
By Bill Adams After cruising several apparatus manufacturers’ Web sites and attending local and regional fire service trade shows, I’ve noticed many apparatus manufacturers are making modifications in the various ways they address the marketplace. Some are quite...
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