BACKGROUND
Good things come in small packages, like rural, picturesque New Athens, Illinois, and the space-savings afforded by their state-of-the-art SAM fire truck. On the banks of a tributary to the Mississippi River, New Athens Fire Protection District (NAFPD) is well-staffed, with volunteers who intend to keep serving for years to come. The NAFPD is a fixture in the community – providing a community space for parades, homecomings, and more. The town itself covers an area of 65 square miles. The fully volunteer-led fire department was founded in 1868 and currently staffs 40 team members who respond to about 120 calls per year, only 10% of which are fire related.
CHALLENGE
It was time for the department to replace their beloved ‘99 Pierce top mount walk-through. Engine. The goal was to keep the truck the same length but increase storage. Because of how small New Athens is, firefighters must be prepared with all the response equipment on board as another vehicle may not ever arrive. Assistant Chief Jake Owens was looking to optimize storage space in the new engine.
“For pump maintenance, it shows you fluid life, the actual working temperature of the pump. That is the cool stuff we didn’t even realize we were getting with SAM.”
SOLUTION
Their previous truck used to have a 74” pump house and a walkthrough space. With SAM and other engine upgrades, they were able to shrink the panel to 48”. In the end, NAFPD was able to double the amount of storage space, have a larger cab, and a larger body, all within the same exact truck length as their previous engine. “We could accommodate because we didn’t need a big pump panel. SAM saved that space for us,” Assistant Chief Jake Owens noted. Although they are well-staffed currently, Owens expects that to change in the next decade. Having SAM, makes his long-term worries diminish, “If you can put the truck into pump, you can figure out how it works… it takes it so far beyond what we thought we could do with a fire apparatus,” Owens said.
RESULTS
“We haven’t had any naysayers, even some of the older firefighters with 40+ years’ experience, they are acclimated and realize the level of automaticity built into SAM is second to none. We are still blown away by it 3 years later.”
In addition to maximizing storage and turning veteran skeptics into proponents of the system, SAM is helping NAFPD continue to serve as a point of intergenerational connection. SAM is helping them engage with future firefighters by displaying a “talking fire truck” for fire safety presentations. Further, Owens notes how much information SAM provides that previously was guesswork, including fluid life, working temperature of the pump, etc. Owens says, “We really feel like SAM is the technology of tomorrow… available today…even some of the older firefighters with 40+ years’ experience… realize the level of automaticity built into SAM is second to none. We are still blown away by it 3 years later.”
“Further, SAM, known as the ‘talking fire truck’ to the kids in town, has allowed New Athens to become a stronger community connector. Even with a well-staffed department, SAM has brought creativity and ingenuity, allowing the team to, “… reinvent who the truck engineer is and what they can do since they are no longer married to the pump.”
“Every single person who was skeptical, once they got their hands on it, they discovered wow, this is neat.”
Request a demo
The best way to learn about SAM is to see it in action.