“
What ’ s the main challenge you face in maintaining your fleet ? The main challenge here is corrosion and parts delivery . Corrosion is number one . Being in the middle of the Atlantic , the salt air is present in every season .
crux of the city is a narrow street surrounded by hills and old construction . The city core is densely residential with a lot of row housing and interspersed commercial areas . As you move away from the city core , you ’ ll find a series of industrial parks , which spread into other communities . We look after six of these industrial parks as a department . Further west , you get into the rural farming communities .
DOES ST . JOHN ’ S HAVE ANY UNIQUE QUALITIES THAT PRESENT CHALLENGES FOR THE DEPARTMENT ?
The downtown core is the most challenging for us . We ’ ve had three major fires over the years , but the largest by far was the Great Fire of 1892 , which essentially annihilated the city . St . John ’ s Regional Fire Department was formed not long after that in 1895 .
After the Great Fire , building material was scarce , so a lot of construction was done in the form of row housing , which creates a hazard when there is a fire and the hilly topography makes it hard to access level ground . We ’ ve had instances where our crew needed to go four houses up the street to find a safe spot to access the building at risk . We also have a lot of older buildings downtown that were originally different heights and the owners have built several layers of roof to increase the height of the smaller buildings , which can make it difficult for us to access the interior in an emergency .
Another area of the community , the Battery , is a difficult area for us to access because the roads are so narrow and sometimes they are only wide enough for one car . We ’ ve addressed this by adding a smaller brush truck and some portable pumps to our fleet for when we need to go out that way .
HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU HAVE WORKING IN YOUR DEPARTMENT ?
Not including management and staffing , we have approximately 200 members . That includes our temporary firefighters . We also have a composite station with about 30 volunteers .
HOW MANY STATIONS DO YOU WORK OUT OF ?
We currently have eight stations , seven that are staffed 24 / 7 and one that is composite .
WHAT IS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE YOU ARE CURRENTLY FACING IN THE DEPARTMENT ?
Aside from the pandemic , we are currently struggling with our rate of growth . When you grow , the dynamics of what you have to supply in apparatus and personnel change . This is especially true when expanding into another district with needs that vary from what you ’ re already servicing and you need to produce new apparatus to respond to those needs .
ABSOLUTELY . HOW MANY TRUCKS DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR FLEET ?
We currently have 22 units that I would classify as apparatus . That includes our pumpers , our aerials , our rescue units , and some specialized equipment such as what we have for the Battery region and our command units . We also have some ancillary support equipment like pickups and truck trailers .
WHAT ’ S THE MAIN CHALLENGE YOU FACE IN MAINTAINING YOUR FLEET ?
The main challenge here is corrosion and parts delivery . Corrosion is number one . Being in the middle of the Atlantic , the salt air is present in every season . We ’ ve had pressure governors from multiple manufacturers corrode to the point where they just fall out of the pump panel .
TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE MANUFACTURING WITH METALFAB .
BRING YOUR VISION TO LIFE WITH METALFAB
”
I ’ ve been dealing with you guys for the eight years I ’ ve been here . In fact , my first truck was a Metalfab tanker . The department purchased their first truck from Metalfab before that in 1990 . It ’ s always been like dealing with family without the arguments . You ’ re supported the whole way through the build , and there ’ s constructiveness coming from both directions . Afterward , you can pick up the phone anytime to call for assistance . And it doesn ’ t matter who you speak to , they ’ ll go to bat to make sure you get what you need .
To date , we ’ ve purchased approximately 15 trucks from Metalfab and even have a couple in production right now . We still have the 2000 Freightliner running on our fleet , and it ’ s continuing to serve us well .
Thank you to Keith MacDonald of St . John ’ s Regional Fire Department for interviewing with Metalfab ’ s Business Development Manager , Ryan Stacey .
If your department is looking to bring your own visions for a custom fire truck to life , our Metalfab team would love to hear from you .
Give us a call at 1-800-561-0012 or contact Ryan directly at rastacey @ metalfabfiretrucks . com to get started .
5