Chicago Fire Department

[MFD76]

[quote name='firepost' date='23 February 2010 - 03:20 AM' timestamp='1266915645' post='365841']

Yes that is a good point Dr Feel Good and I really don't know if Pierce had bid on the fourth round as this was the fourth set of bids on the Truck's as when they "almost" awarded the contract to E/One last spring it had been the third round of bids.

I do know that on the third round of bids (about a year ago) E/One,Pierce, Crimson and Ferrara had all submitted bids and supposedly Pierce was reported to be the 2nd lowest bidder after E/One.I myself wonder if "Heavy Duty Aerial" had been written into the specs by the City of Chicago or if the type of Aerial Ladder that they wanted was unspecified and Crimson was just lucky enough to win the latest bid. Anyway if Chicago could get Heavy Duty Aerials for the price of Medium Duty Aerials, why not.

This is only speculation on my part, but I really wonder (just like many of you) what was going on that made the City reject the "best offer" on three rounds of bids? I wonder if it was because the Department of Fleet Management now handles the heavy apparatus and they didn't know what they were doing or whether if it was for other reasons that they had to keep repeating "request's for bids" over the last almost 2 years?

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Picked this one up from Mike Wilbur. The Med duty have a 250 tip load but with a 3-1 safety factor it makes it a 750 tip load. This is why FDNY still specs the Med duty ladder. Also they have Tower Ladders to flow water, although in some situations the Ladders can be fly piped with hose and a clamp on nozzle. Most Med duty ladders have only one set of jacks vs. the much heavier counterpart has four jacks. Four jacks can be quite a problem on congested city streets. The other problem is Heavy Duty Ladders weigh more and make for a heavier rig with equipment this might reduce the gvw. Most departments spec Heavy Duty without really evaluating their situation and needs. In most situations not necessarily this one it seems today's fire service trinkets and gadgets will win over practical use. Anyway just some insight and thoughts. Keep up the good work I enjoy this thread.



Stay Safe,

Rick