- vincent f. strzelelcki on An Inside Look at Pump Testing
- Dale Alexander on An Inside Look at Pump Testing
- John Lockamy on An Inside Look at Pump Testing
- David Petty on An Inside Look at Pump Testing
- Al Kloha on An Inside Look at Pump Testing
FRC Technical News online
July 15th, 2008Posts appear here in reverse chronological order (the most recent posts at the top). You can simply scroll down to read them, or select something of interest from the navigation menus at left. Commenting is enabled, so if you would like to share your opinion look for a comment box after each post. However, comments must be approved by FRC staff before they will appear.
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announcementsThe PRO-T governor and engine panel
February 15th, 2012
An important item to consider when planning equipment for a new vehicle purchase is whether the new equipment will require operator retraining. This is particularly true for pressure governors on pumpers. FRC’s PRO governor set the standard in 1992 and was accepted and widely used in the industry for 20 years. The new PRO-T Panel provides a governor interface and engine panel display that operators can be immediately comfortable with, all built with the latest technology and safety features.
Click read more to request more information.
Pre-Trip Inspections
February 13th, 2012by Ralph Craven
Most fire departments have a program in place that requires daily inspections, often referred to as “Pre-trip inspections” of the fire apparatus that the department has in service. These programs also have inspection forms that list all of the things that need to be checked and inspected on a daily basis. On the other hand, there are departments around the country that do not have inspection programs. It is these departments that are playing dangerous games with the lives of the firefighters that ride the apparatus and the citizens they are sworn to protect.
Recently a large metropolitan fire department had an accident when one of its ladder trucks lost its brakes, careened down a hill and struck a building killing the officer instantly. It was discovered during the course of the investigation that the department did not have a maintenance shop and only fixed the trucks after they broke. Also, they did not do daily inspections of the apparatus. When the trucks needed to be repaired they were sent to outside vendors.
LittleGuy – The Robotic Fire Apparatus
October 7th, 2011
A battery powered, self-contained, radio controlled, track driven motor vehicle. It will fit through almost any 32 inch doorway. It can climb over debris and even up a few stairs. It will be capable of holding and laying 800 to 1,000 feet of 5 inch fire hose.
The deck gun has a 1,000 GPM Elkhart radio controlled monitor. The cart section has a self-contained remote quick disconnect to eliminate any hang-up problems in case the vehicle has to be returned to the starting position.
The 400 lbs weight includes lighting, infrared sensors, a self protection nozzle, and HAZMAT detection. A cutting system will also be added which will add a few lbs.
The unit is designed to be picked up and placed on a roof by rated aerial platform.
The Good Old Days (what was so good about them?)
May 17th, 2011by Jack McLoughlin
The fire service has progressed tremendously in the years that I have had the pleasure to serve. I think my department, which I love, is typical of many suburban departments in North America. The changes in training, apparatus, the ability to perform tasks in a professional manner, and leadership is nothing short of incredible. I clearly remember my first day in the fire service. I was asked if I could drive a truck. I said sure. They had me drive the truck around the fire district, stopping to pump the truck two or three times. When we got back to the station, they told me I was qualified to be a driver and a pump operator. I was amazed because I knew that I knew nothing about fire fighting and pumping. But that was the level of training in
those days.
New LED Lighting movie
May 11th, 2011John finished up another one of his great overview movies and this time he goes over our new LED lighting offerings. This 7 minute video provides a lot of real-world images so you can really see why FRC lighting is the superior product. It also does a great job of describing the differences in the various lighting products we offer and how they can be used on apparatus – if you’re looking into specifying LED lighting definitely take a few minutes to watch this one!