First and foremost, I screwed up a wee bit referring to the Velocity chassises we purchased as Impels. Granted, the sheet metal/fiberglass is essentially the same but, the County of only buys top of the line!
As I stated in one of my previous posts, the FRD is merely the end-user of the fire apparatus owned by the county's Department of Vehicle Services (DVS). The FRD's Apparatus Section develops specifications based on needs and input from the Apparatus Committee. DVS also has input on the specs since DVS eventually has to provide maintenance and service on the parts of the apparatus that make it a "truck", i.e. chassis, drive train et cetera; the same stuff that's on a garbage truck. DVS has a penchant for Detroit Diesel products in its big rigs and since (to the best of my knowledge) Pierce is only offering Detroits in the Velocity/Impel line, our hand was forced in that direction.
To streamline and standardize DVS fleet operations, it does make a modicum of common sense to consistently purchase the same motors and related parts whether they be for the previously mentioned garbage truck or a bright shiny pumper. It's been my observation that DVS really doesn't care whether the vehicle is a fire truck or other county vehicle other than the fire truck might get a higher priority to be worked on ahead of something with just amber lights.
I really haven't heard much feedback from the folks liking or disliking them. As with any change in the fire service, i.e., putting the 111 mirrors in new whacky locations, there is some grumbling among the veterans but then again, the previous generation of old crusty veterans groused with the first generation of bus mirrors in the early nineties.
RUMOR is that the new Operations AC would like the Apparatus Section to take a step back and see what can be done to rein in the size of the rigs on future purchases but that will require some sort of seance with the Apparatus Section, Committee and DVS all singing Kumbaya together happily.
As a side note, the Apparatus Shops nee, Technical Repair and Preventive Maintenance section; work on the parts that make the truck a fire truck, i.e. pumps, aerials and after-market fabrications,
As I stated in one of my previous posts, the FRD is merely the end-user of the fire apparatus owned by the county's Department of Vehicle Services (DVS). The FRD's Apparatus Section develops specifications based on needs and input from the Apparatus Committee. DVS also has input on the specs since DVS eventually has to provide maintenance and service on the parts of the apparatus that make it a "truck", i.e. chassis, drive train et cetera; the same stuff that's on a garbage truck. DVS has a penchant for Detroit Diesel products in its big rigs and since (to the best of my knowledge) Pierce is only offering Detroits in the Velocity/Impel line, our hand was forced in that direction.
To streamline and standardize DVS fleet operations, it does make a modicum of common sense to consistently purchase the same motors and related parts whether they be for the previously mentioned garbage truck or a bright shiny pumper. It's been my observation that DVS really doesn't care whether the vehicle is a fire truck or other county vehicle other than the fire truck might get a higher priority to be worked on ahead of something with just amber lights.
I really haven't heard much feedback from the folks liking or disliking them. As with any change in the fire service, i.e., putting the 111 mirrors in new whacky locations, there is some grumbling among the veterans but then again, the previous generation of old crusty veterans groused with the first generation of bus mirrors in the early nineties.
RUMOR is that the new Operations AC would like the Apparatus Section to take a step back and see what can be done to rein in the size of the rigs on future purchases but that will require some sort of seance with the Apparatus Section, Committee and DVS all singing Kumbaya together happily.
As a side note, the Apparatus Shops nee, Technical Repair and Preventive Maintenance section; work on the parts that make the truck a fire truck, i.e. pumps, aerials and after-market fabrications,
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