|
Fleet Update Program
Klein recently
completed their Fleet Update Program, replace our aging trucks as well as
updating the fleet to be the most modern available. This project has given
Klein Fire Department one of the most modern fleets in Harris County. We
began over a year ago with the replacement of our oldest front line pumper
with a new E-One Cyclone II 8 man CAFS (Compressed Air Foam System) Rescue
pumper.
With the
receipt of the new E-One pumper Klein began the slow and detailed process of
writing specifications for 6 additional replacement pumpers, 2 tankers, 2 100'
ladders, a 95' platform, a Heavy Rescue Truck as well as a Mini-Pumper for our
Duty Crew.
We are pleased
to announce the program we started has been completed. We have received the
new Pumpers and Rescue from Pierce MFG and the Ladders, Tower, Tankers and
Mini-Pumper from E-One.
Our new E-One
Mini-Pumper was placed in service with our Duty Crew in Jan of 2003. With
this new truck our Duty Crew can now respond to small incidents with this
truck instead of a standard pumper. Klein runs 2 standard pumpers with 3 man
crews and the mini-pumper with a 2 man crew Monday - Friday 7 am - 6 pm daily.
Next to be
received was our 6 new Pierce Enforcer Pumpers. These were placed in service
ince by March of 2003. These trucks replaced (5) E-One/Freightliner pumpers
and (1) Pierce Lance pumper. At this time, all 7 stations will are working
from new 8 man cab trucks. This has increased the manpower ability of each
truck by at least 3 fire fighters.
Our Pierce
Enforcer Heavy Rescue arrived in April 2003 and was placed in servce shortly
afterward. It replaced our 1989 Pierce Lance Heavy Rescue and allows us to
carry additional rescue tools, breathing air, electrical power as well as more
lighting. It has additional features that will allow our firefighters to
operate the truck more efficiently and safely at our incidents.
The new E-One
Ladders, Towers, and Tankers arrived in May of 2003.
The 100 ft
ladders will replace a 55 ft Tele-Squirt and a 75ft Quint. These new trucks
give us the ability to service the areas where ladder reach has been a problem
due to the size of the homes and the distance they are set back from the
road. These trucks carry 6 firefighters; have a 2000 gpm Waterous pump, hold
1200 ft of 5" hose, 2 crosslays and 500 gals of water.
The New E-One
95' Platform gives us an addition to the fleet, this is our first Platform.
Klein made the decision to purchase this truck to handle the growing
commercial and large home growth in our territory. It holds 6 firefighters,
2000 gpm pump, 300 gals of water, 1200 ft of 5" hose as well as 2 crosslays
and plenty of storage.
Finally our 2
new E-one Tankers replaced one existing 2000 gal Pierce/Ford Tanker and added
1 additional unit to the fleet. These tankers were built on a T800 series
Kenworth and have a 3000 gal tank capacity, 3 discharge chutes, 2000 gpm pump,
1800 feet of 5" hose and 2 crosslays. Its primary duty is to carry water but
can operate as a fully functional pumper if needed. This now gives us the
ability to get water to the growing number of Estate Subdivisions that have no
hydrant system, to maintain our ability to service the rural areas still in
our district and as a back up water supply should a hydrant system go down
during an incident.
We will have
new fleet pictures in September of 2003. Keep a look out for our new fleet on
the road in your KVFD neighborhood. We are proud of all the work done to give
our community the best fire protection equipment we can.
Special Thanks
to our Truck Committee:
Don Wenzel,
Chairman
Tim Vatuna, Duty Crew
Richard Chapman
Justin Wells
Marcus Melvin
Chris
Marchiando
Mikel Fontana
Pete Crawford
Bill Bessolo
Clint Gage, Deputy Chief
We also want to
acknowledge the outstanding support from both E-One and Pierce for their
efforts on our behalf. It has been a pleasure to work with both companies and
look forward to a long lasting relationship.
|
