Black Canyon Fire District
Chief Thomas A. Birch
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The
purpose of this project is to satisfy the Black Canyon Fire District’s need for
a structural pumper/tanker to meet the service requirements of the community,
to improve fire safety for the firefighters and to reduce fire loss for
residents. The district protects more
than 58,885 people on a daily basis in a 380-square-mile area; we have 2,697
permanent residents, with an influx of up to 7,000 seasonal residents, 47,285
people traveling through our primary response area on a 20-mile section of
Interstate 17, and more than 8,000 residents in our mutual aid and automatic
aid response area.
With
the award of this grant we will replace our out-of-service 1982 American LaFrance pumper which is well beyond any type of cost
effective improvements. This vehicle was
purchased in 1995 from the City of Phoenix to replace a 1971 pumper. As is the case now, the department did not
have the funds to purchase a new vehicle.
The LaFrance’s original motor has 180,913
miles and 3,584.25 hours of usage.
According to the Phoenix Fire Department, this pumper responded to more
than 40,000 incidents with that department and it has responded to an
additional 200 incidents while in service for our department. The particular problems with this vehicle
include; extensive body rust, numerous stress fractures on the body and cab,
dry rotted brake and fuel lines, leaking pump and axle seals, engine, transmission,
pump, and electrical problems. We have
obtained a quote of $105,000.00 to repair existing problems. These repairs do
not include the cost of bringing the truck up to NFPA compliance. Due to the poor condition of this vehicle
and cost to repair it, all equipment, equipment brackets and radio’s
have been removed from the vehicle. All
items removed from the truck will be relocated to the new pumper/tanker, saving
our citizens, $53,649.00. The vehicle
will be sold for scrap metal pending anticipated approval by the Fire District
Board of Directors.
PROJECT FUNDING USE
With this
grant we will purchase a new pumper/tanker meeting the following
specifications: 1) a 1,250 gallon per minute pump 2) a 1,250 gallon water tank
3) a Class “A” foam
system 4) meet or exceed NFPA 1902 standards.
In addition, the pumper/tanker will have a vehicle-mounted exhaust
filtration system and 3,000 watt telescoping lighting system for improved
firefighter safety. Also,
a 500-horsepower engine with properly sized and geared transmission and drive
line to safely and effectively power the pumper/tanker up the numerous 6% and
8% grades within the district.
This includes an eight-mile section of interstate at a 6% grade. A Telma secondary
braking system has been included to safely slow the vehicle when descending the
hills, which further improves firefighter safety.
The
districts required 10% matching funds have been donated by the community,
showing their support and commitment to our department motto: “One Part Department + One Part Community = Success”
PROJECT BENEFITS
This
project will benefit the community and firefighters and meet the districts
needs through the following improved capabilities: 1) Firefighters will have the confidence that
they will be able to respond to fires in a safe and reliable vehicle 2) Ability to respond
immediately with six fully outfitted firefighters eliminating any delay in
beginning search and rescue operations upon arrival, enabling the district to
comply with NFPA 1500 minimum staffing for structural firefighting. At this
time, we are significantly limited in the number of on-duty personnel due to a
seating capacity of only two firefighters in turnout gear on our current first
response vehicle 3) Ability to respond in a more timely manner due to a
properly sized drive train for the weight carried 4) Arrival at the scene with
sufficient water supply to sustain firefighters while performing search and
rescue operations at structure fires 5)
The pumper/tanker’s 1,250 gpm pump will provide necessary pressure for
both attack and exposure lines during extended operations
Additional benefits
from the award of this grant, include: 1) ability to lower our ISO rating by
increasing our immediate on-scene staffing, pump and water capacity, and by
providing us with a “gradable” truck 2) We believe that purchasing a new
pumper/tanker will improve our ability to recruit new local volunteers due to
an increased seating capability and pride in a new community fire truck 3) ability
of the district to perform regular vehicle maintenance and annual pump testing
while having a second structural firefighting vehicle available for response 4)
Increase our ability to respond to mutual/automatic aid calls with capabilities
our mutual/automatic aid partners do not have, i.e., Class “A” foam and
lighting systems 5) Significantly improve our ability to combat structural
fires by enabling the department to respond in a more timely manner with
sufficient water and pump capacity to meet minimum fire flow requirements on
the initial response, a capability the district does not currently possess
6)Overall enhancement of our ability to effectively and efficiently meet the
service requirements of the community, and 7) This vehicle will also be available
for response anywhere in the state in the event of a terrorist attack or
natural disaster.
INABILITY TO FUND WITH LOCAL
FUNDING
The department’s primary source of revenue is the
fire district tax, which produces $392,000 annually. We are unable to increase our tax rate since
it is already at the maximum allowed by law, $3.00 per secondary assessed
valuation. Although the population of
the district has grown significantly, the growth has been predominantly in
residential properties and not in the larger revenue-producing commercial
properties. The 6% increase in assessed
valuation of the fire district for FY 2003/2004 is equivalent to only a
$20,353.00 increase to the annual budget. Attempts to fund a new vehicle
through other grant proposals have been unsuccessful. Unfortunately, due to our current debt
obligations, it would not be financially wise to acquire another bank loan for
the lease/purchase of a new vehicle.
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
The Black Canyon Fire District was established in 1985 to provide
fire protection services to three unincorporated rural communities with a
population of 1,811; by January 2000,
the number of district residents had grown 49% to a population of 2,697,
and the population is now estimated to be over 3,600. In conjunction with the
significant population growth, the district has additionally experienced an
equal increase in residential structures, including the construction of three
2-story apartment buildings, with an additional six more slated for construction
this year.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE that Interstate 17 is the
only major highway leading to Northern Arizona, which goes directly through the
center of the community. Over 300
commercial trucks travel through our jurisdiction on a daily basis transporting
gasoline, liquified petroleum gas, liquid oxygen,
munitions, and other hazardous materials.
Interstate 17 is also designated as an official
The district’s water supply for fire protection is
limited to three “gradable” hydrants located at the Middle School. Travel time from a fire scene to the hydrant
is as much as 40 minutes one-way. The only other reliable water sources within
the district are a small pond and two swimming pools.
Due to a 7-year drought, community and statewide
water sources are at all-time low levels.
Precipitation from June 2001 to May 2002 was the lowest since the State
began record keeping in 1895. The
situation is such that for the first time in more than 50 years, receding lake
water levels forced Salt River Project officials to turn off the generators at
the Roosevelt Lake plant. In addition,
federal government officials classified the drought in Arizona as
“exceptional”, meaning the most critical.
Some climatologist’s have predicted the region
could continue to face extremely dry conditions for another quarter century,
increasing the fire danger to citizens and the district.
Due to the size of the department’s coverage area and
the lack of water availability, we rely heavily on tankers and tanker
shuttles. Mutual aid tankers have an
average response time of twenty-eight minutes.
This makes it absolutely critical that we replace our deteriorating
21-year-old, 500 gallon non-compliant pumper.
We are staffed with five career and twenty-one
volunteer firefighters. All members are
certified as Firefighter I & II, EMT or Paramedic, Basic Wildland
Firefighter, and 24 or 40 hour Hazardous Material First Responder.
The district owns a 1974 tanker that is also out-of-service. This vehicle was purchased from the state’s excess property department for $1,500.00. Unfortunately, the motor and transmission are seriously under-sized for the load carried; this vehicle was designed for flat land use and is not able to pull the hills within our district. We have also found it extremely difficult to find parts for the motor, transmission, and pump which are in need of being rebuilt.