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Mike's Pimp Your BC Ride - Part 2
Just when I thought I had found the coolest stuff for putting together an awesome Battalion Chief's Command Vehicle I found myself amazed and dazzled by some really good ideas for your command vehicles. This is part two of my series of posts that will focus on command vehicle communications and lighting accessories and packages. Your comments and suggestions are very much appreciated. Many people have been using the FFN as a way to learn from others, preventing making the same mistakes. This post is an attempt to not invent the wheel...
Kern County Fire Department Battalion Chief's Command Vehicle: I had the chance to meet with the Air Operations Battalion Chief from Kern County yesterday. She was helping out on the Fire Captain testing process and I had the chance to meet with her during lunch. She took time to point out and share some of the cool things that were designed into her vehicle. I took photos of the key points and have included them below for your review and comment.
The wiring and electrical adjuncts are way over my head but I took some shots of the behind the scenes electrical system. Hopefully, you know what you are looking at here... : )
Another good idea is remembering to put vehicle ID on top of the roof so helicopters can easily identify you from the air. Also note the antennae installation with two additional antennae locations being put in for future needs.
TCSS, Mike
Kern County Fire Department Battalion Chief's Command Vehicle: I had the chance to meet with the Air Operations Battalion Chief from Kern County yesterday. She was helping out on the Fire Captain testing process and I had the chance to meet with her during lunch. She took time to point out and share some of the cool things that were designed into her vehicle. I took photos of the key points and have included them below for your review and comment.
The wiring and electrical adjuncts are way over my head but I took some shots of the behind the scenes electrical system. Hopefully, you know what you are looking at here... : )
Another good idea is remembering to put vehicle ID on top of the roof so helicopters can easily identify you from the air. Also note the antennae installation with two additional antennae locations being put in for future needs.
TCSS, Mike
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by BillySFCVFD on
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Wow Mike nice work by Kern Co FD. If that standard 110v dual power outlet feeds off an inverter when the shore power isn't connected I would have a max watt/amp placard near it. It looks awful tempting to a plug a high usage coffee pot in to by someone who doesn't understand Ohm's law.
Send some of your warm weather here in east TX, it's near freezing for this CA transplant. TCSS
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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Here's a little sunshine for ya' Billy... I did want to note that the top photo is pre-Tea Fire Incident where many of the homes (220) were destroyed on top of and just over the ridge line. That's the bad thing about it being sunny all the time. Couple the constant sunshine and no rain and it turns into what we had to deal with last month...
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One of my next stops is a LAFD Battalion Chief's vehicle. I was told yesterday that when LA City takes delivery of a new vehicle, 90K is spent getting it ready for service. I'm curious what they build and will be taking some photos of the rig sometime this month. Thanks for the input again on the features.
What I am dealing with now is coming up with ways to justify why we need to have two (2) batteries. The garage folks we work with feel that if the Sheriff's Department vehicles don't need two batteries, then why would we need more than one...
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Ah feels warmer already--thanks. No snow thank God but my dog's water bowl had a layer of ice this morning. TCSS
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Permalink Reply by Jason Brooks on
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We have been using low profile antennas like this one, less chance of them getting ripped off.
http://www.amerizonwireless.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&P...
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There are some really bright people out there putting these together. The locking key box in the trailer hitch was an awesome score. Hiding keys in the gas cap area is not exactly the safest way to secure your vehicle...
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Permalink Reply by Brian Dumser on
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Great presentation as usual Mike! I look forward to seeing the LAFD BC's vehicle. Stay safe!
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Thanks Brian. I may be getting the opportunity to visit the Los Angeles County Fire Department main shop where the R&D, buildup and repairs occur for vehicles, radios, etc. No sense going on a learning curve when there are folks out there who have already mastered their crafts. Any opportunity to discuss and actually meet how to spec out a vehicle is the number one goal to enable learning the rationale behind the reasons why some things are done a certain way. This includes ordering certain products because they have an excellent repair and turnaround time or through experience. With equipment that includes both communications and emergency lighting, certain things have held up better than others and just the brief time I had to ask some questions opened up a lot of doors towards understanding how to build a vehicle that is both functional and user friendly. If you have the chance to go through sheer numbers / volume of widgets, your bound to figure out how to make a better mousetrap. It's almost as if I was going to Chip Foose's garage, but better... pretty exciting stuff.
To be continued...
Have a wonderful holiday season. Mike
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Permalink Reply by Jay Nicholson on
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Although this is an EMS stupidvisor, the suppression BCs are also going to this type of vehicles. Also, El Cajon now uses a 'squad 51' looking vehicle as their BC staff car. I haven't gotten a good look at it yet though.
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