Saturday, July 4, 2009
Up to Standard By Janet Wilmoth, Editorial Director In 1993, I went to Washington, D.C., to write an article about the General Services Administration’s KKK ambulance standard. The interview ended up being very stilted, and a friend later told me that ambulances were the stepchildren of the fire service. Ambulances are emergency vehicles — and emergency vehicle technicians maintain and repair them — yet they don’t fall under NFPA vehicles standards. Now, after years of rumors and talk, the NFPA has begun the process to develop a standard for ambulances.... |
Feature Story
Deep Resources
Trailers and roll-off containers for emergency operations are key to providing specialized services....
Special Report
Vehicle-Collision Near-Misses Provide Learning Opportunities
Vehicle collisions involving fire apparatus garner a significant amount of attention, both within and outside the fire service....
Apparatus & Components
Pierce Introduces Changeable Response Unit
Pierce Manufacturing has introduced its Changeable Response Unit, which allows fire and rescue departments to customize a single pickup truck to do the work of several specialty vehicles through an interchangeable system of dedicated modules. These modules fit into the cargo area and can be easily swapped out for one another. ...
Spartan CFO Retires
James Knapp, Spartan Motors' senior vice president, chief financial officer, chief compliance officer and treasurer, will be retiring from the company within the next few months. ...
From Mutual Aid
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Who is Qualified to Work on Apparatus? By Ben Brown As the NFPA standards change and the need to prove technician qualification becomes more evident, it is increasingly important to back up your technicians with paperwork. But in discussions with other agencies and technicians, I have run across a few misconceptions. One of the biggest is that you must be EVT-certified to work on fire apparatus. This is not the case, as the standard states only that you must be qualified to do the repairs that you are performing. The wording from the NFPA 1071 (2006 edition) is “by possession of a recognized certificate, professional standing, or skill, has acquired knowledge, training, and experience and has demonstrated the ability to deal with issues related to the subject matter.” This statement allows for obtained skills and experience that are usually gained on the job. ... |
Recent Deliveries
Recent Deliveries for May
Whenever a department writes the specifications for a new apparatus, part of the process should be to look at apparatus being delivered to other departments around the country....
Shop News
Shop Truck Photos Wanted
If you are proud of your department's mechanic truck, fuel truck, tire truck, wrecker or other maintenance-related vehicle, we'd like to feature it in a monthly issue of In Service Online....
Shop Calendar
Check our national calendar of events for training, conferences and meetings of interest for emergency services personnel involved in vehicle maintenance and specifications. To submit an event, contact Lisa Allegretti, lisa@firechief.com....
