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Very little in firefighting comes easy. That's why the Crosby Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD) is doing everything it can to alleviate fire pump maintenance and training concerns by unifying their fleet with pumps produced by the same manufacturer.
The small Texas department, located just 30 miles outside of Houston, purchased a new engine in February 2009 that is now in full operation – and equipped with an Eclipse™ CAFSystem™ and the Advantus®, Waterous' foam management system, which keeps in line with their fleet standardization goal.
The reason for pump uniformity, explained Chief Alan Kulak, came down to reliability. "We have a 25-year old pumper equipped with a Waterous pump that still runs and has never been repaired during that time."
Made up of fifty volunteer firefighters that operate out of five stations, the CVFD protects the unincorporated communities of Crosby and Barrett Station, Texas. About ten years ago, the department determined that pump uniformity would streamline maintenance and training efforts, and they selected Waterous as their primary manufacturer.
"We started using Waterous pumps in '81 and they've been very successful for us," Kulak said. "So in 2000 when we decided to standardize our fleet with one pump manufacturer we went with Waterous."
Covering an area of 102.8 square miles, the CVFD protects nearly 30,000 residents with a fleet consisting of five engines, one reserve engine, four tankers, two booster/brush trucks, a tower, and a heavy rescue unit. Of those apparatus, the engines, two tankers, tower and heavy rescue unit are all equipped with Waterous pumps and/or CAFSystems™.
The CVFD's Eclipse™ CAFSystems™ are integrated midship-mounted systems that simultaneously deliver 200 SCFM of individually adjustable compressed air, aspirated foam and water and feature 2000 GPM pumps. These easy-to-learn, pre-plumbed, pre-mounted and pre-calibrated units offer simplified operations by locating the controls near the midship pump. The Eclipse™ also exceeds NFPA 1901 guidelines for accuracy.
Besides accuracy and reliability, Kulak is finding that the continuity between pumps makes for a more efficient maintenance program. "Using similar pumps simplifies maintenance and upkeep," stated Kulak. "It is also nice to know that if our mechanics do have any questions, they only have to make one phone call to one manufacturer."
In terms of maintenance and operations, compressed air foam is still relatively new for the CVFD, but Chief Kulak is confident that having uniform equipment between the five stations will help improve training and firefighter performance.
"Even though it's been around for years, it is still a new technology and it's sometimes a challenge to get my firefighters to use it on a consistent basis," said Kulak. "The nice thing is that all the units are the same so they don't have to learn a new set of pump operations for all the different trucks."
Like the CVFD, more and more departments are finding they can streamline their maintenance program and education efforts by standardizing their fleet. And companies that offer a full-line of products like Waterous are in a unique position to help departments achieve this beneficial uniformity.
