The volunteer team at Midway Fire and Rescue just west of Tallahassee now has a powerful new tool to help save property and lives.
The invention is called "SAM," short for "Simplified Apparatus Management." It's the brainchild of Jason Cerrano who fought fires for 20 years in the St. Louis area. He knows from experience how hard it is to set up a fire truck to pump water.
"An operator has to spend a lot of time and gain a lot of experience to be proficient in pumping water on the fireground. It's definitely not as easy as 'turn it on; turn it off.' I personally invented a system that automates the process."
The IDEX company bought Cerrano's concept. He now works for them as an ambassador for the technology. A fire equipment distributor called MES sells the SAM devices and that's how Midway's Fire Chief Nathan Yarusso got involved. It seems his department had just gotten some significant money from the state.
"MES had reached out to me. They had a truck that was already built as a demo that had the new SAM system on it. Up to that point, I'd never heard of it. IDEX brought over a new truck for us to check out. We gave it a try and the stars seemed to align with the budget timing. We took a gamble, we got the truck and it's been amazing every since."
Small, volunteer companies like Midway's have been facing a firefighter shortage. Jason Cerrano says that's a big selling point for the SAM device.
"It truly allows departments that are understaffed to get water on the fire faster. And what you're seeing in the fire industry is the size of a fire is doubling every 30 seconds. So a half-a-minute, because someone has to go pull a lever or straighten out a hose, makes a huge difference in the outcome of a fire."
Chief Yarusso has a case in point.
"In fact, the first week that we had it installed, we had a structure fire where I was the first one there with the engine. I was able to start fighting the fire until my backup arrived."
Still, SAM inventor Cerrano insists the idea isn't to replace people with technology.\
"We never say we're going to replace anybody, because the safest fireground is the one with the most firefighters on it. But each fire department has to look at their current situation and if they have one, two or three people on a truck."
And Chief Yarusso sees another advantage.
"When you think technology, you instantly think it must be complicated. This simplifies our job so much! I recommend it to anybody."
And with the ongoing threat of wildfires, any extra firefighting advantage would seem to be a good thing.
