This was pretty darn good! Some details and terminology was off, but it's one of the best overall explanations of a fire engine that I've ever seen. The very first engine that I was the engineer on was a 1974 Seagraves (it was 25 years into its service life at the time) - things have changed a lot since then.
DaveS: Do we get 25 years service from new trucks/pumps? I remember the trucks weren't replaced very often when I was a kid, was a big deal for a small town. Cool vid, Ken. Thanks
In 1982, a Mack pumper was $250K fully outfitted (or at least what Beaumont FD paid for one). My nephew tells me, a new one today is ~ $1M (but his Dept buys quints, so NOT an apple-to-apple comparison)
Greg in Idaho - As with so many other mechanical things - it all depends on maintenance. By and large, I think that most of the major fire apparatus manufacturers still build to very high standards. practically every new engine or truck is custom built. Things need to work when lives are on the line. Our small rural department just picked up a 1993 KME (thru the DOD) that was used on an Air Force base in Florida - the paint is bleached from the sun and it suffers from nearly 30 years of firefighter use and abuse. BUT - for less than $30K in replacement parts and labor (directional light bar, scene lights, new radio, and assorted odds and ends fixes and replacements) we have a "new to us" engine that will probably stay in service for another ten years unless one of our firefighters manages to wreck it, blow up the pump, etc.
We also have a 2012 Mack pumper (aka - the New Engine) that is our first out rig for most calls - and after 10 years it only has 11,000 miles on it. Low miles, but LOTS of hours.
Pretty cool stuff. It's nice to know where your $600,000+ in taxes is going.
ReplyDeleteThis was pretty darn good! Some details and terminology was off, but it's one of the best overall explanations of a fire engine that I've ever seen. The very first engine that I was the engineer on was a 1974 Seagraves (it was 25 years into its service life at the time) - things have changed a lot since then.
ReplyDeleteThis guy's videos are great. He's got one on the P-51 Mustang. What an incredible machine that was!
ReplyDeleteDaveS:
ReplyDeleteDo we get 25 years service from new trucks/pumps? I remember the trucks weren't replaced very often when I was a kid, was a big deal for a small town.
Cool vid, Ken. Thanks
In 1982, a Mack pumper was $250K fully outfitted (or at least what Beaumont FD paid for one). My nephew tells me, a new one today is ~ $1M (but his Dept buys quints, so NOT an apple-to-apple comparison)
DeleteGreg in Idaho -
ReplyDeleteAs with so many other mechanical things - it all depends on maintenance. By and large, I think that most of the major fire apparatus manufacturers still build to very high standards. practically every new engine or truck is custom built. Things need to work when lives are on the line. Our small rural department just picked up a 1993 KME (thru the DOD) that was used on an Air Force base in Florida - the paint is bleached from the sun and it suffers from nearly 30 years of firefighter use and abuse. BUT - for less than $30K in replacement parts and labor (directional light bar, scene lights, new radio, and assorted odds and ends fixes and replacements) we have a "new to us" engine that will probably stay in service for another ten years unless one of our firefighters manages to wreck it, blow up the pump, etc.
We also have a 2012 Mack pumper (aka - the New Engine) that is our first out rig for most calls - and after 10 years it only has 11,000 miles on it. Low miles, but LOTS of hours.