Case Study: Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department

Randy Ellis, Fire Logistics Manager 

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department covers 840 square miles along the St. Johns River near the east coast of Florida. Several railroads and two major Interstate highways pass through the city, and the nearby port is home to numerous cruise ships. It's a big area, and the department operates out of 55 stations to protect a population that is rapidly approaching the 1 million mark.

Randy Ellis is fire logistics manager for the department and has been in the fire service for 29 years. "We use almost every product that Akron Brass makes," he says, "and we are now standard with Akron Brass for all our nozzles, monitors, and valves."

Ellis is particularly complimentary about the Akron Black Max piston intake valves and says the department specifies them on both inlets of its fleet of engines. "That's over 100 valves," he notes. "The 10-year warranty on the Black Max is great, and the valves have worked well for us."

For nozzles, Jacksonville uses Akron Brass Turbojets on almost all its preconnected handlines. The standard configuration for engines includes two 1¾-inch crosslay lines -- one usually 150 feet, and the other 200 feet -- plus two 1¾-inch lines in the front bumper pan. The front bumper lines are carried in two separate hose trays and are connected through a gated wye into a 2½-inch outlet. "The Akron Turbojet has proven to be a good choice for us," comments Ellis. "With the pressure governor system on pumps today, the firefighter on the nozzle can select the flow rate to meet changing fire conditions, and the governor will automatically adjust the pressure."

The department also uses Akron Brass electric remote-control SaberMaster nozzles on many of its aerial monitors. The aerials carry Akron electric junction boxes for electrical power distribution.

Case Studies:

• Fort Worth Fire Department
• New Concord Fire Department
• Orrville Fire Department
• River Vale Fire Department 

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