RVFD firefighters have brand new ride
By John Joyce
Published in News on September 18, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
The newest engine at Rosewood Volunteer Fire Departments sits outside the station. The new truck is replacing a 20-year-old smaller truck that the department has outgrown. In addition to storage, the truck is equipped with an air compressor and two sets of heavy vehicle extrication gear.
The Rosewood Volunteer Fire Department debuted its new $530,000 rescue truck on Sept. 11, the 14th anniversary of the attacks in which 343 firefighters gave their lives.
The truck actually arrived a few days earlier, but the decision was made to enter it into service in commemoration of the sacrifice made by firefighters that day.
Its cost is spread over five years, with quarterly payments to follow the initial $100,000 down payment already made by the department, Rosewood Fire Chief Steve Harrison said.
The truck, a Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp. model made in Pennsylvania, is specifically designed for rescue operations and is equipped to handle extractions from motor vehicle wrecks, to assist with water rescues and to conduct rope or trench rescue operations.
Harrison said the addition of the new rig adds another asset to the county's emergency services fleet.
"One of the major goals we wanted to do was be able to assist Goldsboro with what they are doing. They have the people trained on everything. We wanted to make sure we had the equipment to back them up," Harrison said.
In the future, with the completion of the U.S. 70 Bypass project, Rosewood's capability -- and demand -- for mutual aid calls from other fire departments is expected to increase.
The new truck is built around a compressor system on board capable of refilling firefighter's self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs) on scene. There are only three like it in the county, Harrison said.
"Right now, New Hope (VFD) just bought our old truck -- that had a compressor on it -- and Mar Mac has got a compressor, and we've got a compressor," he said. "We can actually pull up on a scene and pump air all night," Harrison said.
In 1984, with the rig that has been sent over to New Hope, Rosewood became the first department in the state east of I-95 to have that self-sustaining air compressor capability, he said.
"Everything we've got we try to replace within 20 years of service," Harrison said. The 1984 model had reached the 20-year mark and, although that truck still works great and is in service, Rosewood simply outgrew it, he said.
The capability to keep air packs filled on scene is handy when fighting a large-scale fire, especially one where multiple agencies are involved such as the recent fire at Aycock Tractor Supply on U.S. 117, Harrison said. But the new truck had to be able to do more than simply fill tanks.
"We do extrication for our district, Oakland and Little River. And we can assist with Nahunta, Grantham and Goldsboro," he said.
On the front of the truck, powered by an onboard 55 kilowatt generator -- which also powers the LED lighting that surrounds the truck and the light tower that extends from the roof of the rig -- are the two most essential tools to any extrication, the Jaws of Life and a set of cutters.
The hydraulic tools are attached to 70-foot hoses allowing flexibility around the rig, so that no matter which way the truck pulls up on a scene, the tools will still reach the victims. And, if a vehicle flies off the road into the woods or into a ditch where the tools won't reach, a portable generator and hand-held spreaders and cutters are housed in the rear.
Similarly, a mobile winch can attach to any of the four corners of the truck. A vehicle can be pulled out of a ditch without having to reposition the rig, Harrison explained.
Sliding tool boards held in the belly of the big rig hold any and every tool a firefighter might need on an extrication scene and are accessible from either side. All of these features were installed with a specific purpose in mind.
The planning process for the new truck began two years ago and construction of the rig took 18 months.
Assistant Chief Mike Hinson oversaw a five-person committee that designed the truck.
"We took a drawing that was on the Internet, and we took a drawing of the picture of the truck and copied it. We started writing in stuff that we needed, started making our own walls and shelves and everything else as we went along," Hinson said.
After four or five revisions, the design was complete. It was delivered to Greensboro for the air system to be fitted on board and Hinson went and picked it up and drove it back to Rosewood.
"It was good. It was different. It's a different ride than the rest of the trucks" he said.
Everybody who has driven it since then has said it is a different ride, as well, he said.
The truck has been on two runs since being put into service Sept., 11. Hinson was on both calls, but not on the rig.
"I was actually on both calls watching it come down the road. I wasn't riding on it. It was a thrill," he said. "It's a monster."