The Scarborough Fire Department recently took delivery of its newest piece of fire apparatus, a new fire engine for Black Point Station. 

The purpose of this week’s article is to not only announce that this new apparatus was recently placed in service, but to explain how much work and research goes into the design, specification, and procurement process. You can’t simply go down to the local dealer and select a new fire truck off the lot. They are very specialized pieces of apparatus and because each community and fire department has unique challenges and needs, they need to be designed to meet those specific needs.  

For example, we have large sections of town with no public water supply or municipal hydrants. This means we have to design trucks with larger than average hose beds which allow us to carry the additional supply hose required for some rural water supply situations where we may need to lay more than a mile of hose from the water supply source to the fire scene. 

A piece of fire apparatus is an important long-term investment for the community. Our predecessors recognized this and knew the department needed to develop a long-range replacement schedule so the town could plan for the orderly replacement of apparatus as it reached the end of service life. The solution was to form a standing truck committee in the late 1940s which remains active today and has been involved in the design and purchase of every piece of apparatus since.

 The truck committee is made up of a variety of talented and dedicated individuals such as former Fire Chief Robert Carson and Captain Bruce Bell who have each served on this committee for more than 30 years. They bring a historical perspective and wealth of knowledge and experience. 

They are joined by the current fire chief and deputy chiefs as well as key call company officers representing each of the six neighborhood call companies. Finally, we are extremely fortunate to have three members of the public works department participate including our fire mechanic, his supervisor (our former mechanic) and the maintenance foreman. 

Since public works maintains our fleet they have a unique perspective of the department’s needs and provide beneficial input during the design phase of apparatus specifications. During the years this well-rounded committee has developed the trust and respect of the various town managers and town councils that have served our community because of their diligent work, personal integrity and proven track record of success. 

One of the first things the truck committee did was develop an apparatus replacement schedule that is still the foundation of what we use today. It is predicated on a service life of approximately 25 years for an engine or ladder truck. The plan is adjusted as necessary due to unforeseen circumstances or to space out purchases to accommodate the capital needs of other municipal departments. 

Our department has six front-line fire engines, one for each of the neighborhood fire stations, and we keep one of our older trucks as a spare engine that is used to fill in when one of the front line trucks is out for service or repairs. 

The fire engine we recently purchased is replacing our current spare truck, a 1978 Mack, which has served the community for more than 30 years. The new engine will become Engine 1 and be stationed at Black Point, and its current truck, a 1989 E-One, will be reassigned to the spare pumper role.  

When the 1978 Mack was purchased, it was the department’s first custom fire apparatus with an automatic transmission and diesel engine. This was a significant improvement over the commercial gasoline powered engines the department had purchased up to that point. 

The modern day truck committee continues the tradition of specifying and procuring modern apparatus that are designed based on the following priorities. Our primary concern is for the safety of our personnel. As technology in the heavy truck industry advances things such as anti-lock breaks, automatic stability systems, and airbag restraint systems are now available and we try to take advantage of them whenever possible.  

The second priority is to design our apparatus with proven parts and components to minimize annual maintenance costs, standardize our fleet and parts inventory, and maximize longevity to assure the apparatus will be able to serve for its anticipated 25-year service life.  

Finally we strive to take advantage of technological advances in firefighting. A prime example of that is the Compressed Air Foam Systems (CAFS) that we have purchased as part of our last four pumpers. This technology uses compressed air and class A foam concentrate to produce a foam solution that is 10 times more effective than plain water and puts out the same volume of fire with significantly less water. This is particularly important in the rural area of our town where there are no public water mains or fire hydrants.

To make sure the town got the best possible value for the truck we recently put in service, the truck committee started working on the specifications more than two years ago. Their work started with detailed research including meeting with representatives and obtaining information from a dozen manufacturers. Next came the daunting task of writing detailed specifications and working with the town’s purchasing agent to craft a formal Request for Proposals. Once bids were received and a vendor was selected, four members of the committee went to the factory to attend a pre-build conference. This is where specifications are reviewed line by line with the manufacturer’s engineers to make sure both parties are in agreement on details of the design of every component on the apparatus. This process is beneficial because engineers often have suggestions that save money or provide a better solution to a challenge.  

A fire truck is a large capital investment for a community. I hope this article has provided some insight as to how deliberately the fire department works to make sure the town gets the safest and best possible value for the investment it makes in fire apparatus. If you have any questions about this article or the fire department in general, I can be reached at mthurl@ci.scarborough.us or at 730-4201.

The Scarborough Fire, Police and Public Works Departments produce a weekly feature for the Leader educating the public about various duties of the departments and public safety issues.