- The 2003 FIRE DEPARTMENT INSTRUCTORS CONFERENCE (FDIC), owned by Penn-Well Corporation, the parent of Fire Engineering, was ranked 70th out of the 200 largest trade shows of the year by Tradeshow Week, an industry publication.
- At the 2004 FDIC, TNT RESCUE SYSTEMS awarded the Gold Cutter award and tools to five fire departments that performed life saving rescues using TNT tools. The Advance (IN) Volunteer Fire Department was awarded a C-20 cutter for a rescue involving a head-on collision between an extended cab pickup and semi tractor-trailer hauling powdered cement. The occupant of the pickup was in critical condition with head injuries and a broken femur. Led by Firefighter Dustin Schooler, and using only TNT extrication tools, the department executed a forward flap of the roof and cut the B and C posts with relief cuts to better access to the patient. Members opened the driver’s door using a spreader and lifted the dash with a ram. The patient was quickly freed and turned over to the medics and transported via ambulance to the nearest Level I Trauma Center, more than 30 miles away. With long extrications, a Lifeline Helicopter is called to transport the patient to a hospital within the golden first hour after the accident. However, Advance Fire extricated the patient so quickly that he was transported by ambulance and survived.
Four other departments also won the Gold Cutter award for their rescue stories: Pinellas Park Fire Department, Clearwater, Florida; Seminole (FL) Fire Rescue; Knoxville (IA) Fire Rescue Department; and North Shore Fire Department, Brown Deer, Wisconsin. The departments were offered a choice of a new TNT R-20, R-30, or R-40 rams.
- E-ONE has restructured its product lines and identified the segments to streamline ordering and customer selection. Apparatus built on commercial chassis (such as Ford, FreightlinerT, International, and other manufacturers) are now part of the new E-ONE Tradition product family, which includes two product lines. The Tradition product line offers a limited choice of chassis, pumps, bodies, and options; the Tradition XL line allows a larger selection of chassis, pumps, and bodies, which can be combined with almost unlimited options.
Apparatus built on custom chassis, such as the TyhoonT, the Cyclone IIT, the HurricaneT, and the HushT, are part of the E-One Signature product family. The Signature 300 product line is limited to the Typhoon chassis with specific premium configurations and options; the Signature 700 product line features a wide choice of custom chassis with a wide range of highly customized configurations and options.
- LDV’s In Command Mobile Command Center will be on tour at a variety of industry events throughout 2004. Scheduled tour stops include Washington, DC (GOVSEC); New Orleans, Louisiana (IAFC); Ontario, California; Los Angeles, California (COPSWEST); and Nevada, Georgia, Colorado, and Arizona.
Some of the highlights of the In Command Mobile Command Center special service vehicle include a 12-foot slide-out area; air-actuated pocket doors; aluminum custom cabinetry; ducted air conditioning system; LCD monitors; and an exterior work station with an LCD monitor, DSS receiver, lighted drop-down work area, and communications systems.
- SEAGRAVE FIRE APPARATUS plans to build an additional plant at its headquarters in Clintonville, Wisconsin. When complete in late 2004, the plant will add more than 130,000 square feet to its manufacturing capacity and free up existing plant space for Seagrave and FWD chassis production. The new plant will house fire apparatus body, aerial ladder, and Aerialscope assembly areas; a new state-of-the-art paint center; customer delivery center; inspection center; and sales and marketing offices for Seagrave and FWD. Unique to the plant will be an area devoted to aerial ladder assembly with an in-ground pedestal for testing and adjusting aerial ladder assemblies inside the building.
