Special Delivery Alan M. Petrillo
The Fresno (CA) Fire Department serves on a regional task force for California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CAL OES) and was running a 2006 heavy rescue that it wanted to place into reserve status and replace with a new model with several modifications. Fresno chose SVI Trucks to build that new, improved heavy rescue.
Timothy Fulmar, Fresno battalion chief, says his department sits in California’s Central Valley and that the closest heavy rescues in the area are a long distance away in either Bakersfield or Sacramento. “Our apparatus committee is composed of 12 individuals, and five of them—all urban search and rescue (USAR) firefighters—were involved as the rescue committee,” Fulmar points out. “We took a long time to design this vehicle because we wanted to be sure what would be contained in each compartment and storage space and how that equipment would be secured there.”
1 SVI Trucks built this heavy rescue on a Spartan Gladiator EMFD cab and chassis with a 10-inch raised roof for the Fresno (CA) Fire Department. (Photos courtesy of SVI Trucks.)
department
Fresno (CA) Fire Department
Strength: 360 paid full-time firefighters, 20 stations.
Service area: Provides fire suppression, rescue, fire prevention, urban search and rescue (USAR), hazardous materials response, and airport firefighting capabilities to a population of 542,000 in the 116-square-mile-city of Fresno in the San Joaquin Valley.
Other apparatus: 19 Type 1 engines with 1,500-gpm pumps and 750-gallon or 500-gallon water tanks; one 105-foot aerial ladder quint; three 105-foot aerial ladder straight sticks; one 100-foot aerial ladder platform; two Type 3 wildland urban interface (WUI) pumpers; two Type 6 wildland pumpers; two 3,000-gallon water tenders; one hazardous materials truck; one support/rehab/command truck; a Ford F-350 utility truck towing a trailer with two rigid-hull inflatable boats (RIB) and one spare outboard motor; one Oshkosh Striker 6×6 aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) truck; one Rosenbauer Panther ARFF truck.
2 The Fresno heavy rescue has awnings on each side of the rig and seven coffin compartments on top.
He adds, “Some of the elements that we wanted on our new heavy rescue were awnings; winch points at a number of locations around the truck; a work station in the back area of the cab with a lockable storage area; a slide-out compartment at the rear for our Paratech system; storage under a rear stair area; and custom designed undercarriage compartments for plywood, heavy lumber, backboards, and a Stokes basket. We were able to get all those things and more with SVI.”
Pete Leizer, SVI Trucks western sales manager, says Fresno’s heavy rescue is built on a Spartan Gladiator chassis and extended medium four-door (EMFD) cab with a 10-inch raised roof. It has seating for four firefighters, three of them in H.O. Bostrom self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) seats with Zico 1000 series SCBA air pack brackets and a custom lift-up desk with a secure storage area. He notes the wheelbase on the rig is 257 inches, the overall length is 42 feet 1 inch, and the overall height is 11 feet 8 inches. The new heavy rescue is powered by a 500-horsepower (hp) Cummins X15 engine and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission.
3 The L1/R1, L2/R2, and L5/R5 compartments on the rescue have OnScene Solutions transverse cargo slides.
4 The heavy rescue has custom-designed underbody compartments for lumber and heavy items.
5 The rig features a slide-out tray under the rear stairway.
SPECS
SVI Trucks Heavy Rescue
- Spartan Gladiator EMFD cab and chassis with 10-inch raised roof and seating for four firefighters
- 257-inch wheelbase
- 42-foot 1-inch overall length
- 11-foot 8-inch overall height
- Cummins 500-hp X15 engine
- Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission
- Command Light KL series light tower
- Onan 35-kW PTO-driven generator
- Boss Industries air compressor
Scott Beck, sales manager for Fire Apparatus Solutions, who sold the heavy rescue to Fresno, notes that the rig has two full-length awnings, one on each side, as well as an unusual exhaust system. “We put in an exhaust diverter that is deployed as soon as the driver hits the parking brake,” Beck notes. “The exhaust is channeled out the top of the apparatus body, so there are no fumes emitted under the awnings.”
Beck says that Fresno’s heavy rescue has six underbody compartments that carry various types of lumber and plywood, a Spartan SGM overhead advanced climate control air conditioning system, an Onan 35-kW power takeoff (PTO) driven generator, and a Boss Industries air compressor that produces 160 cubic feet per minute (cfm) at 160 pounds per square inch (psi) and 185 cfm at 110 psi. The heavy rescue also has two panels at the rear of the body that have two air connections where a 1½-inch rubber hose can be run to provide a large volume of air to remote locations.
Leizer says the heavy rescue has a custom power tool storage tray that consists of molded plastic inserts shaped to the tools to secure them when traveling. It also has OnScene Solutions transverse cargo slides in the L1/R1, L2/R2, and L5/R5 compartments; OnScene Solutions vertical tool boards in other compartments; a Hannay air hose reel; two Hannay electric cable reels; and two Carefree Mirage awnings.
The rig has a rear compartment to carry long tools or lumber that slides in from the back, storage under the lift-up stairway, a Warn portable winch, and seven coffin compartments on the roof of the body. A full-width covered compartment in the extended front bumper houses HURST Jaws of Life® eDRAULIC rescue tools that include a spreader, cutter, and ram in custom mounts as well as electric power to the bumper to charge extra batteries.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
