It was common 30 years ago for the fire chief to buy the new apparatus for a department. And 10 or 12 years into the vehicle's service life, mechanics were taking three hours to change a 25-cent part due to poor design and maintenance access. Preventive maintenance wasn't common and equipment testing wasn't always affordable.

The process evolved eventually. Fire chiefs received input from the National Fire Protection Association, apparatus manufacturers and maintenance organizations.

During that time, Boyd Cole was with Underwriters Laboratories and travelled extensively to train and test on aerial ladders. He found that Washington, Oregon and California had strong organizations for their mechanics, which led to better, safer apparatus. So Cole, John Stacey, Jim Bland, Gary Pope, John Brown, Rich Wasina, Don Cook, James Steffens and several others joined together to raise mechanics' awareness of preventive vehicle maintenance, safety issues and training.

“The only place I could find hope for a national organization was the IAFC,” Cole said.

This year, the International Association of Fire Chiefs' Apparatus Maintenance Section celebrates its 20th anniversary. Ronny J. Coleman was IAFC president when the section was formed and he advocated training and preventive maintenance. He addressed the section's 10th anniversary workshop and noted that “the average period of time for an idea to become mainstream is 25 years.”

Along the way, mechanics became emergency vehicle technicians. They have a recognized certification program and state organizations across North America. Emergency apparatus are safer, technologically sophisticated and more expensive than ever. Building fire trucks is a tough business, and servicing them requires a lot of training and a broad knowledge base.

To that end, Specialty Vehicles.net interviewed 85 North American manufacturers as part of a research study for apparatus and components manufacturers and dealers. The organization estimates that in 2006, the emergency-vehicle industry had $1.76 billion in sales with 7,225 units manufactured and 6,824 sold in North America. The organization published the 200-plus-page The Fire Apparatus Manufacturing Industry in North America in December.

The study was a “one-time picture of the industry structure,” said Jeremy Brahm, general manager for Specialty Vehicle, who also interviewed a number of the people for this research.

While the report predicts the municipal market for fire and emergency vehicles in North America will remain healthy in the near future, Brahm noted that governments are being asked to do more with less — the report found that the total number of firefighters hasn't increased in more than a decade.

“Do you need a $1 million truck or would an $800,000 truck do and you could employ more firefighters?” he asked. “The customization makes these units very expensive, whereas fire chiefs could really use their money elsewhere. When you get into customization it adds on man hours to build and manufacture. Do people want to wait six to nine months out?”

The report also found that 54% of the country's fire trucks are more than 15 years old.

There is good news after these 20 years. The recent Fire Department Safety Officers Association's Apparatus Specification and Maintenance Symposium had more than 550 attendees — the largest attendance in its history. The IAFC's Apparatus Maintenance Section's Workshop is scheduled for Aug. 13 in Denver. State EVT associations continue to forge ahead. The Emergency Vehicle Technician Certification Commission is nearing its 20th year. Coleman was right on target with his 25-year assessment.

Now emergency responders are riding in safer, ergonomically designed vehicles maintained by trained technicians. Why? Because 20 years ago a group of people decided to make a difference — and they did.

As one EVT reminds me regularly, “Without us, the pride don't ride.”