Ottawa Fire Services

[Guest]

Can't wait to see the Hazmat in person

[Guest]

We did some testing in the evening on the new hazmat, and this gave an opportunity for some interesting shots.  This one shows both towers extended and the satellite dish deployed

[Guest]

An example of the reflective red, with upper white reflective outline.  All red is reflective on the truck, to match our 24 KME engines.

[Guest]

This shows how well a person can be silouetted by the reflective red on the rear of the truck. I think it emphasises the fact that there is someone there!   Note the person standing to the right, how dark they are.  Our standard calls for the top half to be chevron and the bottom half to be solid red reflective.  The full rear chevrons have a tendency to sometimes work like camo and hide people, so that is the reason for our style, which also meets NFPA standards of 50% of the rear body to be chevron.

[jlg1875]

Looks great Ken, a LONG time coming!

[Guest]

Looks great Ken, a LONG time coming!

A long time, but well worth the wait!!!

[Guest]

Had to take a photo of the new hazmat with palm trees in the background.  This will be my last chance as I head home early in the morning!  2015 Spartan Gladiator/EVI.

[ACPD227]

I take it Spartan doesn't offer the same handles on the two cab compartments as EVI used on the rest of the box.  

[jlg1875]

Looks awesome in the sun Ken, thanks for posting. How has the reflective red held up on the KMEs with your guys' horrible winters and such? I don't think I've ever seen anything like that on any other apparatus in Canada or the USA. Hope you had an easy trip home

[ff002]

Looks awesome in the sun Ken, thanks for posting. How has the reflective red held up on the KMEs with your guys' horrible winters and such? I don't think I've ever seen anything like that on any other apparatus in Canada or the USA. Hope you had an easy trip home

I will answer this one for Kenny. The reflexite on the KMEs has held up well. When Kevin Poll, Paul Asmis and I presented it to management, our number one thing was safety. The research we conducted and read concluded

-to have continuous reflective material from front to back

-reflective should outline the truck

-wheel wells should be outlined so a motorist can recognize it as a vehicle and understand it may move

-no chevrons low (although we relented on the front bumper because otherwise it was cut up to much)

-the rear lights should be surrounded by a non reflective band of black tape so lights don't get "lost" in the reflexite's glow

-and NO LIME YELLOW chevrons because our gear striping is Lime yellow (we are not protecting the truck- we are protecting our firefighters!)

 

We also presented that red and white two tone paint was strictly for show, so taking the money that would be used for two tone and using it for reflective was a safer choice.

 

In terms of maintenance, we researched reflexite versus 3M, and reflexite doesnt separate when cut at seams (the 3m stuff does which is why it looks dirty after a few years at seams). The reflexite is also way more "sticky" and does not peel off.

 

We presented if you get a scratch, you can simply "paste" a new piece on (it comes in strips) as compared with sanding, priming and painting the traditional way.

 

There are two spots where we needed to make a change on the newer KMEs- climbing to the pump operator position (the reflexite was kicked repeatedly) so we made that diamond plate; the second place was where the tarp attaches (getting scuffed)

 

It appears we will continue with this premise. You cannot miss these trucks!

[Guest]

I take it Spartan doesn't offer the same handles on the two cab compartments as EVI used on the rest of the box.  

That is correct.  These are a heavy duty handle, the same one as used by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.  We specifically asked for these handles.

[Guest]

I will answer this one for Kenny. The reflexite on the KMEs has held up well. When Kevin Poll, Paul Asmis and I presented it to management, our number one thing was safety. The research we conducted and read concluded

-to have continuous reflective material from front to back

-reflective should outline the truck

-wheel wells should be outlined so a motorist can recognize it as a vehicle and understand it may move

-no chevrons low (although we relented on the front bumper because otherwise it was cut up to much)

-the rear lights should be surrounded by a non reflective band of black tape so lights don't get "lost" in the reflexite's glow

-and NO LIME YELLOW chevrons because our gear striping is Lime yellow (we are not protecting the truck- we are protecting our firefighters!)

 

We also presented that red and white two tone paint was strictly for show, so taking the money that would be used for two tone and using it for reflective was a safer choice.

 

In terms of maintenance, we researched reflexite versus 3M, and reflexite doesnt separate when cut at seams (the 3m stuff does which is why it looks dirty after a few years at seams). The reflexite is also way more "sticky" and does not peel off.

 

We presented if you get a scratch, you can simply "paste" a new piece on (it comes in strips) as compared with sanding, priming and painting the traditional way.

 

There are two spots where we needed to make a change on the newer KMEs- climbing to the pump operator position (the reflexite was kicked repeatedly) so we made that diamond plate; the second place was where the tarp attaches (getting scuffed)

 

It appears we will continue with this premise. You cannot miss these trucks!

Thanks Bruce, good response and a bit of the history on this to boot ...

[firetdriver_99]

Thanks Bruce, good response and a bit of the history on this to boot ...

Just was curious was that an expensive option? looks very functional

[Guest]

Just was curious was that an expensive option? looks very functional

Less than painting, but still an expensive option.  But if it helps avoid even 1 firefighter getting struck, or someone driving into the truck, I think it was well worth it.

[Guest]

Sorry Ken, I gotta call you on this one. The reflective costs significantly more. It is labour intensive, and very expensive. On top of that the whole truck still has to get painted, so you are covering it twice. If it was all red you only paint once and don't cover it. Even white/red cab is only a small fraction of the reflective cost.

 

Jamie

[Guest]

Sorry Ken, I gotta call you on this one. The reflective costs significantly more. It is labour intensive, and very expensive. On top of that the whole truck still has to get painted, so you are covering it twice. If it was all red you only paint once and don't cover it. Even white/red cab is only a small fraction of the reflective cost.

 

Jamie

You are correct Jamie, wasn't thinking about the labour part!!  It took 5 days to apply all the reflective, and this was by someone who does it for a living!

[ff002]

You are correct Jamie, wasn't thinking about the labour part!!  It took 5 days to apply all the reflective, and this was by someone who does it for a living!

I am going by memory (which is sometimes wrong) but for the KME pumps, they budgeted about $7000 for the reflective, including chevrons and our striping package. (smaller truck and the fella at KME had it on in just under two days). The two tone paint was about $2800 for a difference of $4200. (Approximately 0.8% of the total truck price)

My view only, but totally worth it.....

[jlg1875]

WELL worth the extra $$$, it's not like you were spending that money on gold leaf or a second Roto-Ray.

[Guest]

Recently placed in service is Pump 23, a 2015 KME Severe Service 1250/600/20, one of 12 delivered this year.

[Guest]

The City of Ottawa Fleet Services issues pool numbers for every vehicle.

 

The first 2 digits relate to the type of vehicle.

 

71 is a heavy rescue or hazmat

73 is a command vehicle

74 are pumpers

75 are tower ladders

76 are aerials

79 are tankers

 

Older vehicles have a 4 digit number, that indicates the order that it was placed in service.

The next generation had a letter, followed by 3 numbers.  The letter was to represent the year, with the following 3 representing the order that the truck was placed in service.  Example, 74-D067 means that it is a pumper, that was the 67th vehicle placed in service in the city, in 2013.  

The current system was instituted this year, and has a 5 digit number, with the first 2 indicating the year.  So 71-15424 is a hazmat truck, and is a 2015.