PIERCE MANUFACTURING INC. and ADVANCED CONTAINMENT SYSTEMS, INC. (ACSI) of Houston, Texas, have entered into an exclusive marketing and supplier partnership to sell a full line of decontamination vehicles, trailers, and equipment used for homeland security applications. Under the agreement, Pierce will provide the custom and commercial apparatus, and ACSI will supply the decontamination body interiors, trailers, and equipment. This full line will be sold and supported through Pierce’s nationwide dealer distribution network to fire departments and state and county agencies. All are eligible to receive state homeland security grants to cover the purchase of this type of apparatus.
OCENCO, INC. has acquired INTERSPIRO AB and its subsidiaries. The combined respiratory protection company will operate 11 facilities in nine countries. Ocenco supplies escape breathing apparatus to international military, maritime, and mining markets. Interspiro supplies breathing apparatus to municipal firefighters, the military, and professional underwater divers.
CHIEF, a nationwide supplier of public safety equipment and apparel, has launched its new Web site, www.publicsafetygrants.com, which guides public safety professionals through the grant writing process. The free service also offers a consultant on hand, 12 hours a day, five days a week, to answer any questions. Site visitors can quickly locate federal government opportunities that are currently open and available; the site also contains grant training, a research center, tips on writing and researching grant programs, news and events, and frequently asked questions. This free consultation service is aimed at helping fire and EMS departments obtain critical funding. For more information, visit the following Web sites: www.publicsafetygrants.com and www.chiefsupply.com.
To combat the risk and raise awareness about colon cancer, a potentially deadly disease, the JAMES E. OLSON FOUNDATION (JEO), a national nonprofit colon cancer awareness organization, has donated 10,000 take-home colon cancer screening test kits to the Fire Department of New York. Members began receiving the test kits during their annual physical exams along with information about colon cancer. JEO continues to collect funds for the test kits through their Web site www.JEOfoundation.org.
The NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION (NFPA) has appointed the following trustees to the Fire Protection Research Foundation: Davis R. Parsons of Lakewood, California; Mickey Shiver of Lake Buena Vista, Florida; and Catherine L. Stashak, C.S.P., of Deerfield, Illinois. The trustees will serve a three-year term on the 12-member board. The Foundation is a charitable, nonprofit fire research group whose work has included projects on the storage of flammable liquids, quick-response sprinklers, fire detection, fire risk assessment methods, firefighting foam, and electrical safety.
The NFPA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the American Petroleum Institute (API) have formed a two-year alliance to promote safe working conditions within the petroleum and petrochemical liquid storage industries. The alliance will focus on providing industry workers with training and guidance to ensure their safety and health, including safe tank entry, cleaning, maintenance, and rescue operations involving petroleum and petrochemical liquid storage tanks. Alliance partners will encourage industry workers, many of whom are tank owners and operations supervisors, to take NFPA courses on safety and health standards, including confined space safe practices, and then share that knowledge with fellow operators. The alliance will also coordinate best practices and lessons learned with others in the industry and publicize those results through individual training programs and materials.
FIRE FACILITIES INC. has named Shelley Mertig sales coordinator, responsible for providing sales support for the sales staff including assembling bids and proposals, assisting customers, and organizing and entering data. Previously, she worked at Trachte Building Systems, Fire Facilities’ parent company, for eight years.
SEAGRAVE FIRE APPARATUS has added two new dealers to its distribution network: Command Seagrave Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio, and William Shoemaker Associates Inc. in Hamburg, New York. Command Seagrave Inc., which will cover 18 counties in southwest Ohio and five counties in northern Kentucky, is located at 8216 Blue Ash Road, Cincinnati. Telephone, (513) 891-6120.
William Shoemaker Associates, Inc., which will cover western New York state and two counties in northwest Pennsylvania, is located at 399 Pleasant Avenue in Hamburg, New York.
Seagrave named Creighton T. Pritzlaff director of marketing for FWD/Seagrave. Reporting to Jim Hebe, president and CEO of Seagrave, Pritzlaff will be responsible for the marketing activities of Seagrave Fire Apparatus, including product management, advertising, dealer operations, and marketing support functions. He will also be responsible for the marketing activities of the FWD division of Seagrave and the development of its new heavy-duty vocational chassis product line. Pritzlaff served most recently as regional sales manager for Oshkosh Truck Corporation.
Seagrave also named Brian T. Becker vice president of sales for FWD/Seagrave. Reporting to Jim Hebe, president and CEO of Seagrave, Becker will be responsible for the sales activities of Seagrave Fire Apparatus, including field sales, sales administration, and the sales activities of its three factory-owned dealerships and the sales activities of Seagrave’s sister company, FWD, and its newly-reintroduced heavy-duty vocational chassis. He served most recently as general manager of American LaFrance Northwest in Portland, Oregon.
