Quakertown Fire Co. No. 1

The new Engine 17-1

The new engine to replace the 1986 Mack CF engine has arrived and has been outfitted with all of its equipment.  The officers are in the process of qualifying the company’s drivers on the new truck and will soon place it in service as Engine 17-1.

The new engine is the result of a two year process of research, planning, and design by the Engine Replacement Committee.  The committee has spent two years meeting, traveling to area fire companies, and traveling to Swab in Elizabethville, PA in order to bring the project together.  The committee members are Deputy Chief Brian Guenst, Battalion Chief David Reinhart, Captain Chris Erwin, Lieutenant Mike Hellyer, Lieutenant David Erwin, Chief Engineer Brian Fluck, and firefighters Greg McDermott, Bill Weber, and Matt Kershes.

Spacious compartments on the new engine

The specifications of the new engine are as follows:

• Spartan Gladiator chassis
• 33′ 9″ overall length
• Cummins diesel motor
• 2000 GPM Waterous two-stage pump
• 750 gallons of water
• 20 gallon foam tank
• Inline foam inductor system
• 150′ 1.75″ bumper line
• 2x 200′ 1.75″ crosslays
• 200′ 2.5″ crosslay
  

  Loading equipment onto the new engine

• 200′ 1.75″ rear handline
• remote control TFT deck gun
• Blitzfire mobile ground monitor
• 10kW hydraulic generator
• All LED emergency lighting
• LED brow flood lights
• LED compartment lighting
• Bostrom SecureAll seating for 6
• 35″ extension ladder

Heavy fire on the second floor

At around 2045 hours on November 10th, 2009, the box alarm was struck on box 17-5 for a fire on Richlandtown Pike.  Firefighter Jim Mindler jumped in the driver’s seat of Engine 17-1, the aging Mack CF-600 whose replacement was already in the station being gold-leafed and lettered, and started her up.  The air brake supply may have taken a little longer to fill up than it used to, but otherwise Engine 17-1 was ready to go.

Chief 87 arrived on scene with heavy fire from the second floor of a welding shop.  Engine 17-1 hit a hydrant for the last time and laid the entire bed of 5″ supply line.  Firefighters Bill Weber and Brad Thomas, accompanied by Captain Chris Erwin, stretched a 2.5″ handline to the second floor.  Firefighter John Moyer and Deputy Chief Brian Guenst charged the hydrant.  Crews from Squirt 18 pulled a backup line from Engine 17-1.

“The truck’s first call was a working fire as well,” recalled Battalion Chief David Reinhart as crews stood at the side of Engine 17-1 waiting for

Lines and ladders in service

the fire marshal to finish his investigation.  “We had just put it in service in November of ‘86 when we were dispatched to a rubbish fire at the Quakertown Senior High School.  Crews at the station wanted to take the new engine, but I told them they had to take Engine 17-2, the truck that was due on the call.”

Minutes later Engine 17-1 was dispatched to the Bergey’s Tire fire in Perkasie.  “We drove down main street, lights and sirens, and we beeped and waved to the crew on Engine 17-2.”

Back in 2009, as the fire marshal wrapped up his work at the fire on Richlandtown Pike, the decision was made to take Engine 17-1 out of service since it had laid all of its 5″ hose.  The next day crews packed the 5″ hose onto the new engine.

For 23 years Engine 17-1 has served as the first-due engine to structure fires in the Quakertown Fire Department’s response area.  It will be put up for sale in the coming months.

Twenty two years is the standard age at which a Quakertown Fire Department engine is replaced.  Engine 17-1, a 1986 Mack CF, is now 23.  Despite its age, it’s still going strong, serving as the first-out piece on structure fires.  While time hasn’t taken a toll on Engine 17-1, new safety regulations and equipment have come about which Engine 17-1 does not comply with or have room to carry.  Mechanical parts are also becoming scarce for Mack CFs.

Heavy items such as saws will be placed on low slide-out shelves.

Over a year and a half ago a truck committee was formed to design a replacement engine.  The committee took numerous trips to fire companies far and wide to inspect their newest trucks and decide on a chassis manufacturer.  A final decision was made to go with Spartan, the manufacturer of the chassis of Engine 17, now 10 years old.  A decision was also made to use Swab to build the body.  Engine 17, Engine 17-1, and Chemical 17 all have Swab bodies.

Countless hours and much thought was put into the design of the new truck.  Designed from the ground up, the new engine is packed with features that were chosen to fulfill specific needs.

Upper shelves will tilt down for access by shorter firefighters.

“We designed the engine with a limited daytime crew in mind,” said Lieutenant David Erwin, chairman of the design committee.  Heavy equipment such as fans and saws will be placed low on roll-out shelves to allow individual firefighters to lift them without unecessary effort or possible injury.  The cross-lays have been lowered to allow shorter firefighters to pull them with less effort.  The pump has a computerized throttle that will maintain a set pressure, and the deck gun can be remotely controlled from the ground, allowing the driver to operate a master stream while the crew concentrates on preparing to place handlines in service.

The engine will carry 750 gallons of water in its booster tank, as opposed to the 1000 gallons currently carried by both Engine 17 and Engine 17-1.  This allowed for 24″ deep compartments, greatly increasing the storage capacity of the truck.  Roll-up doors will allow compartments to be opened in tight areas where swinging doors would not fit.

Another truck with the same seat type found in the new engine.

An inline inductor system with a 30-gallon foam tank is also included, allowing crews to operate foam lines immediately without the need to manually set up an inductor and foam buckets.  Crew seating has been fitted with an easier release mechanism for the airpacks, addressing a common complaint among the firefighters riding the current engines.

Delivery is expected in July of 2009.