More than 40 custom chassis ordered with the new safety system since April 2007
OCTOBER 15, 2007, Appleton, Wis., — Since Pierce Manufacturing Inc. introduced the first frontal air bags available in custom chassis to the fire service earlier this year, the company has received more than 40 orders for vehicles featuring this new safety system.
The frontal air bag system is an integral part of the company’s 360º Protection From Every Angle™ program, designed to increase the safety of firefighters as they travel to and from emergency calls.
The air bags can be paired with the Side Roll Protection system and are available on all Pierce custom chassis.
“Our people are our most valuable asset, and their safety is my number one priority,” said Chris Sadler, chief of the technical services and special operations battalion of York County, Va. “We need state-of-the-art safety features on our apparatus, and that’s why we’ve spec’d the frontal air bag system on four new Pierce Quantum fire trucks now on order.”
Other departments ordering the frontal air bags include Las Vegas Fire Dept., Nev.; City of Portland Fire Bureau, Ore.; Bolivar Fire Dept., Ohio; Crowders Mountain Fire Dept., N.C.; and Newton Square Fire Dept., Penn.
The frontal air bag system protects firefighters in the event of front impact collisions. The frontal air bag system is available on Pierce Velocity™, Impel™, Quantum® and Arrow XT™ custom chassis, exclusively through Pierce. Fire trucks ordered with the frontal air bag system will be placed into service beginning later this fall.
“We’re seeing a high number of departments who want this system to keep their crews safer in the cab,” said Wilson Jones, president of Pierce Manufacturing. “The development of the frontal air bag system represents a tremendous investment, focusing on keeping fire fighters safer in the line of duty. At Pierce we make the commitment to develop the technologies because it is an important part of our on-going commitment to build the industry’s safest vehicles.”
A sensor inside the cab monitors the truck’s longitudinal accelerations. If it detects a frontal crash of significant magnitude, it sends a signal to inflate a steering wheel-mounted airbag and a knee bolster airbag on the front passenger side. These subsystems work together to dramatically reduce the risk of fatality or severe injury in a frontal collision. Pierce developed the frontal air bag system together with LifeGuard Technologies, a division of IMMI.
Pierce Manufacturing Inc., a subsidiary of Oshkosh Truck Corporation [NYSE: OSK], is the leading North American manufacturer of custom fire apparatus. Products include custom and commercial pumpers, aerials, rescue trucks, wildland trucks, minipumpers, elliptical tankers, and homeland security apparatus. In addition, Pierce designs its own foam systems and was the first company to introduce the Side Roll Protection System to fire apparatus. To learn more about Pierce, visit www.piercemfg.com.