Firehouse.com

Bob Barraclough has been in the fire industry for at least 50 years and knows a thing or two about fire apparatus. His buddy, Alan Saulsbury, has just about the same amount of experience and both shared their expertise recently at Firehouse Expo.

It was likely the last time Barraclough and Saulsbury will speak together publicly on the topic of apparatus specifications, as Barraclough announced his retirement from the conference circuit last week.

"Alan and I have been giving this presentation for 15 to 20 years now and this just happens to be my last," Barraclough said at Firehouse Expo in Baltimore. The title of the presentation was "Specifying Apparatus Today: Critical Factors, Performance Bonds and Other Necessary Items for Purchasing Today's Apparatus in Turbulent Economic Times."

"I am hoping we can give you the information you need to get the truck you want when you want it," said Barraclough, who is one of the longest running presenters at Firehouse Expo.

Farewell to a conference legend

Harvey Eisner, Firehouse Expo Conference Director and Firehouse Magazine Editor-in-Chief, acknowledged Barraclough's contributions, calling him a "superstar" in the fire service industry.

"Thank you very much for your contributions over the years," Eisner said last week, as he presented Barraclough a leather-bound coffee table book on firefighting.

A final presentation

During his Expo presentation, Barraclough said that Eisner has been "very kind and gracious" to him and Saulsbury, and that he appreciated the opportunity to share his knowledge.

"We're here to help you," Barraclough said. "We want you to have safe equipment."

Even though it was Barraclough's last show presentation he had plenty to say.

Specifications and bids

"Buying a fire truck should be a fun process," he said. "If you specify it right, and it comes out right, the whole thing should be fun... But if you don't do it right, you can have some terrible nightmares."

Backed up by Saulsbury, Barraclough walked the audience through the process of specifying apparatus, including making sure the bid process is done properly and protecting the department and the taxpayers with performance bonds.

Saulsbury and Barraclough differed slightly on the value of writing specifications. Barraclough said that writing specifications is a long process, taking a year or more to make sure the department gets exactly what it wants.

To shorten that timeframe, he suggested departments negotiate with builders. "If you want a brand name truck negotiate," he said. "Talk about what you'd like to have on it and how much is it going to cost."

Saulsbury recommended hiring consultants to help write bids as a way to make sure departments get exactly what they want.

Both men cautioned that department truck committees shouldn't be engineers and try to design apparatus themselves.

"Here's a helpful hint," Barraclough said. "Don't design the truck for the builder. They've got a lot of engineers who have seen and designed a lot more fire trucks than you will ever see."

Another tip offered by Barraclough involved budgets and needs. "Stick within your budget," he said. "If you've only got $200,000 to $300,000, don't go looking at $600,000 units."

Saulsbury recommended that departments shouldn't try to "mix and match specifications" if they want to have a cost effective and efficient apparatus when it's delivered.

He also said the internet has become a useful tool, at least as a starting point, for building apparatus.

"We never thought there would come a day when you could buy apparatus over the internet," Saulsbury said. "But it's here and it happens every day." He added that departments can select apparatus options and get suggested list prices for the components that will give them conceptual ideas about how much apparatus will cost, before refining specifications and requirements for bids.

Protecting the fire department

When bids are received, both Saulsbury and Barraclough recommend careful scrutiny of the specifications provided by the builders.

"There are some things in bid specifications that can really hurt you if you don't watch out," Saulsbury said.

One of those are bid exceptions, or "clarifications" where builders deviate from the specifications to accommodate the way they build apparatus, or a way to save money.

Saulsbury said builders don't like to take exceptions to bids, which are like substitutions or omissions, but they will try to disguise them as clarifications.

"Go through and look at each clarification carefully to make sure they're acceptable to you and you really get what you want," Saulsbury said.

That does not mean, however, that departments shouldn't be open to compromise on some components and specifications, Barraclough said.

"We're serious about compromise," Barraclough said. "If they didn't do this for you, but they did that for you, that should be ok... Make sure everything you thought you were going to get is in the spec and on the truck when it's built, and get everything in writing."

As part of the process of making sure departments get what they thought they ordered, in the time they require, Barraclough strongly recommends performance bonds. Bonds are financial instruments that help guarantee that departments don't lose money if the apparatus builder fails to deliver what was ordered.

"There are cases after case of builders going out of business," Barraclough said. "It's important to get a performance bond and make sure it's a U.S. bond company."

Also, to protect department money, Barraclough said it's not a good idea to put any money down before delivery. It's too easy to lose it, he said.

As the truck gets built, Barraclough said it's important for the department to inspect it on a regular basis to make sure everything is being built to specifications and there are no surprises.

Final inspection should be done at the factory, Barraclough said, and it should be done by a small group, no more than two or three, who are intimately familiar with the apparatus and won't make any changes that are unacceptable to the rest of the apparatus committee and the department.

Saulsbury and Barraclough both said the department should strive to get all the documentation for the apparatus, including manuals and wiring schematics, before the final payment is made.

"It gives them a little more incentive to get you that material than it would if they have received all their money," Saulsbury said.

Final advice

When it comes to training on the new apparatus, Barraclough said departments shouldn't expect the builder to train everybody in the department.

"Let them train the trainer, and the training officer do his job and train the rest of the department," Barraclough said.

And finally, Barraclough and Saulsbury highly recommended the National Fire Protection Association's 1901 Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus as an excellent reference for the whole process of specifying and buying apparatus.

"The whole purpose of this presentation is to make sure you get the apparatus you want and you expect," Barraclough said. "You can do it. It just takes a little effort."