On Oshkosh Corp. wins $82.6M contract with US Army

Posted on September 10 at 1:38 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Pwrtrip's comments made my day.

Oh yes, we're putting in the headrest TVs for the dust mites clinging to the back wall of the cab and the 24" spinners to help with blinding the enemy green with envy.

If Pwrtrip really knew anything about these trucks you would know that headrest TVs are useless (no second row of seats) and the trucks already have spinners on them, its called CTIS. Pretty helpful when some tires get shot out, can keep going on the rest.

How do I know??? I build em for a living.

On Firefighter in good condition after truck rollover

Posted on May 7 at 12:56 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

Just a couple counter-points to heatherpink's comments. No, it is NOT thier job to "move fast". The job is to do firefighting and related rescue duties. It is ALSO thier job to get to the scene in the safest manner possible, it does no good if the apparatus is wrecked/disabled enroute and FFs are out of comission due to injuries or death.

As for applying the same "move fast" statement to a police officer.... right now there is a case in Stevens Point that has an officer facing reckless homicide charges for "speeding to a crime scene". In the process of responding, the officer went through a red light at an estimated speed of 52 mph and broadsided another car killing the young driver that had a green light.

http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/ap...

Driving tanker apparatus is one of the worst jobs to have, they are notoriously unstable from watersurge and top-heavy as well, therefore the engineer is responsible for knowing his rig and how its going to react. If it means slowing down to keep it on the road, so be it.

I have driven many quints(aerial trucks with pump/watertank), straight aerials, and 'Scopes (platform aerial) on a test-track. You can feel it when the truck wants to roll, but I never had enough momentum (speed) to actually roll it... Thank god, otherwise I'd been out of a job! The newer trucks now are more comfortable with high-horsepower engines and "easier" to drive compared to the older rigs. The downside to that is that the line from running safely to disaster can now be crossed with little to no warning to a distracted or inexperienced driver.

I will not pass judgement on this accident until investigations are done; however, if citations are warranted, write them! Hopefully OFD and other Fire Depts. will use this incident in a "Lessons Learned" training session and benefit from it regardless if citations are issued.

As for the two injured FFs, I wish them a full and speedy recovery and am glad that 2 Brothers did not have to answer their final alarm.

Stay Safe and Everybody Goes Home!