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my vol. fire department is in need of a new first out engine. ours is a 1989 ford 2-3 man cab 1500gal tank front mount pumper that is dieing very fast. we have tryed grants in the past but the chief told me to get key point on what needs to be in the grant app.
any key points that can help us out would be great and any other grants that are out there for fire departments would be cool
thank you
ps forgive my spelling i have not been able to sleep very well lately.
I wouldn't say you're late, you're just early for 2013. If you need help sleeping, digging around the forums here for tips and tricks might help, but odds are it will backfire since there's a ton of stuff from articles, PodCasts, as well as forum postings from myself and others.
First being that 23 years old as a frontline truck is on the older side, but it also depends on the overall fleet age and other types of trucks. It also depends on whether or not the narrative is being read. If the statistics aren't there, which can't be changed legally, then the most solid narrative in the world won't matter since it won't see the light of day. Otherwise you're already on the right track about truck type, mechanical issues, etc.
Short notice, but if you are available we are hosting a grant writing class here Friday and Saturday that Kurt is putting on.
http://firstrespondergrants.com/frg_..._view/class/63
We are about an hour and a half from the Ohio line.
Be specific about its problems. On these forums, it's enough to say "It's dying very quick", but on the grant you will need to get into details. How's it doing on pump test? Flying colors or marginal? Transmission issues? PTO shifter issues? What about the motor? Are you having to go back and fix the same thing multiple times? Is the tank leaking? How much cash have you dropped making repairs on it the last two years? What's the mileage? What are the pump hours? Has it broken down on you during a response or at a scene?
Consider drivability. Can all your apparatus operators competently drive the truck? Does it have a 2-speed rear axle or other tough-to-shift transmission? Does it have hydraulic brakes?
What about its use? Does it mostly stay close to home or does it run a lot of mutual aid? Does it go out and pump its balls off every fire? And as BC79er said, what about the rest of your fleet? What's your backup status? Do you have a backup, or would it take mutual aid to cover for the rig if it went out of service? What kind of time delay would that cause?
Just get the two-minute diagnosis of what its deal is and go from there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BC79er
What statistics are the computers looking at in relation to tanker applications?
D) All of the above. :D
Now a better question might be, which ones count more than others for a tanker project. Main one is % hydrant coverage. After all, if you have hydrants everywhere, no real need for mobile water supply since it's sitting on every street already. Then like any other truck app it's about the vehicle being replaced, fleet age, and that's about it for ones to key on. After that it's the same for any project looking at applicant budget, project cost, population, call volume, etc, etc.