lafd55
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Fire/EMS Vehicle Photo Hunt. Small Addition 01/03/2016!
- Thread starter lafd55
- Start date
7d9_z28
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pdk9
Member
The Rockville Centre suburban is solid & clean! I like Amsterdam's expedition (especially the large grill lights) but the vertically-mounted ledx on the side looks awful. The fort Edward piss/taxi yellow is horrific.
As for Syracuse's E2, side lighting coverage is poor. I really don't like how a bunch of dept's in upstate NYS (and elsewhere in the US) have FireStix-type apparatus that are designated as "engines" and don't have anything in the unit designation that indicates it has aerial capabilities (although limited) and an elevated waterway. Although personnel in their Dept know each truck's capabilities, this leads to confusion with mutual aid depts & some dispatchers. I also think that the parade bell is a waste of money here; i understand the tradition, but I don't like seeing them when priority could be placed on other safety/warning items (i.e. Q siren, solid perimeter warning package, etc & other warning equipment that will be utilized during response or while parked).
As for Syracuse's E2, side lighting coverage is poor. I really don't like how a bunch of dept's in upstate NYS (and elsewhere in the US) have FireStix-type apparatus that are designated as "engines" and don't have anything in the unit designation that indicates it has aerial capabilities (although limited) and an elevated waterway. Although personnel in their Dept know each truck's capabilities, this leads to confusion with mutual aid depts & some dispatchers. I also think that the parade bell is a waste of money here; i understand the tradition, but I don't like seeing them when priority could be placed on other safety/warning items (i.e. Q siren, solid perimeter warning package, etc & other warning equipment that will be utilized during response or while parked).
lotsofbars
Member
It's funny, I actually thought the same exact thing when this engine was delivered. All the other new engines are solid Sutphen apparatus with plenty of side warning, a front mini bar in the grille and a Q right under that. This thing has none of those and instead has four whimpy light heads on the grille and one of those awful-sounding new Whelen sirens that sound more like a dying duck than an emergency vehicle. Why they decided to give E2 this oddball truck is beyond me, and it's very disappointing, at least visually and audibly.
pdk9
Member
Good point! When I lived in upstate NY for college, they were slowly phasing out older trucks (ALFs with mini strobe bars above the grill and above par perimeter lighting packages) and everything else in their fleet is a sutphen with a mini freedom on a shelf above the grill. R-1 (SVI/sutphen) is my favorite: it is bright and loud as F@#K coming down the street. On the other hand, this KME has absolutely no side lighting between the front bumper and rear wheel well, and has tiny linz6 on the grill.
I'm guessing they went with a KME (with a super basic warning package instead of sutphen) for E2 b/c they might've been a quick purchase (i.e. it was already being built as a KME demo or a stock rig) to get a new E2 in service quickly and on budget by the end of a fiscal year. For example, We've always spec-ed our engines as Quantums, but we have one oddball engine in our fleet (different Pierce chassis, the paint job is different shade of red, & everything is smaller on this truck)....that was b/c the chief at the time did a rush purchase (don't ask me why :-/) and went with a Pierce demo that was already in the process of being built right before the fiscal year switched over & for a lot less than we normally spend on engines
lotsofbars
Member
I think there are amber lightheads on the middle panels on either side of the truck as well, but I don't understand why anyone would put amber anywhere but the rear on a fire truck, considering it's a non-emergency color. I think that these apparatus were a big step down from all the new Sutphen apparatus that Syracuse was purchasing. Those things last forever and their warning packages are top notch. All of the old Sutphen apparatus are still in service while all the old E-Ones and ALF's are either out of service or are being phased out fast.
pdk9
Member
I honestly don't mind a little Amber on the side. My dept and several others in my area have 1 Amber lighthead in the middle of our engines (rear side of the cab); I wouldn't use it for front or side warning, but i def like having a little Amber on the side since we block for accidents on highways and busy streets all the time.
I definitely agree about this being a step down. I know there are a handful of big city depts that use their severe service line (LA, San Fran, Boston, now FDNY, etc), but in my limited KME experience (KME predators), there were a lot of things that made the delivery seem rushed and without attention to detail b/c we each had to send the trucks to the dealer to have work done on them (which was on the original spec/should've been done by the factory, and there were a lot of obvious details & flaws on the exterior that the dealer had to fix before we'd accept delivery). I dunno if it was accidental or what, but when several depts in a small county each have issues with new KME deliveries, it makes you wonder. Stuff like that gives them (in my mind) a rating as mid-level apparatus b/c I know that too end manufacturers like Pierce don't cut corners. People whose brains m I'd really like to pick, though, are drivers/engineers & mechanics in NYC, Boston, LAFD, San Francisco, etc b/c they know more than anyone else what takes a beating. In my Dept, our engines typically get 150K+ miles in a 15 year lifetime, so we only buy Pierce for their dependability.
On the other hand, aside from a recall on some of their aerials a little while back, I think the sutphen trucks are well built and their 120+ yr history speaks for itself. I think their tandem axle aerials can use a little bit more side lighting, but a lot of depts seem to be happy with them, and their presence has grown in south FL.
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SUtphen is becoming much more popular in east central Florida as well. The city I live in just bought a Sutphen engines, the city to the north and the one to the south of me both just bought Sutphen mid mount towers and one of those bought two new Sutphen engines as well.
lafd55
Member
pdk9
Member
yes, Etna is known in Tompkins county for their black trucks. This was their first custom chassis piece of apparatus & it definitely looks cool; until they bought this rig about 5 1/2 years ago, they've pretty much always had tandem axle, 2-door commercial cab Sterling and Ford tankers & engines with tall, dual stack exhausts (they only have several active FF's and 1 active EMT in the Dept, so their manpower turnout is not much, & they only run ~200 calls/yr in a podunk district). They also recently bought a new F350 lifted brush truck, even though they don't have a real need for one. Although the black is definitely super cool-looking, it looks more like a SWAT truck IMHO, so I prefer red & neon yellow/green (like Miami Dade) for fire apparatus.
Fort Hunter Fire Department Guilderland, NY
Unit: Chief 302
FortHunter302 by witkowski.andrewb, on Flickr
Osage Ambulance Company
Dealer: Cromwell Emergency Vehicles
Unit: Demo
Osage Ambulances
Cromwell Emergency Vehicles
OsageAmb by witkowski.andrewb, on Flickr
A friend of mine in Lubbock who owns an ambulance co. was using Osage ambulances at one time and really liked them. I saw an Osage Type III built from a Ford Transit van here in Midland that belongs to TachMed Ambulance. Quite unusual, but nice.
lafd55
Member
pdk9
Member
I really like the new OFPC NGPI utilities. Did they get them with the factory mirrorbeams & headlight intersection only? The ILB looks FedSig & the grill lights look like 3-4 diode lightheads (not the 6 diode stud mount microns). Also, do they have anything to the rear besides LAWs?
i really like the waterson suburban (although larger M-series would've made me happier). The slicktop pickup with star grill lights and a ILB sucks IMO.
Also, was Albany rescue 9 a local build (as opposed to a complete build by a fire truck manufacturer)? The box looks cheap, and the lighthead mounting looks a little sloppy IMO
as always, thanks for sharing
i really like the waterson suburban (although larger M-series would've made me happier). The slicktop pickup with star grill lights and a ILB sucks IMO.
Also, was Albany rescue 9 a local build (as opposed to a complete build by a fire truck manufacturer)? The box looks cheap, and the lighthead mounting looks a little sloppy IMO
as always, thanks for sharing
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lafd55
Member
The OFPC has all the factory Whelen lights like in the rear top and side rears, mirrors, LAWs, and IONs in headlights, they add the ILS, 3 head micropulses in the grille, siren, and 6 head micropulses on either side of the rear plate.
Which Suburban are you referring too? the Port Washington one?
The Albany rescue was done by the local Spartan ERV dealer, they have an identical Rescue 1.
lafd55
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lafd55
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pdk9
Member
Me too! I also like the Clifton Park Scheme...the only thing I would change about the checker scheme is to use 2 contrasting colors (i.e. Neon & red, neon & blue, etc) instead of having one of the colors that blends in with the color of the paint job.
Round lake's Ferrara rescue is also pretty cool; it looks like a mini FDNY rescue (but without those god awful 900 series Gen 1 perimeter lights?
lafd55
Member
lafd55
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pdk9
Member
I LOVE that tandem axle tanker! I just wish they didn't use V Series for all the lower level perimeter warning and that they had 4 M6 in the grill area