Firefighter controller setup

So I’m about to be a certified firefighter and have my “Georgia Light Permit”. Which means I can run lights and sirens if I need to respond. But as far as I know no company offers an “equipment console” for Tacoma’s. Like you would see in a police car. For those of you who care. I’ll be running a fenix 4200 controller for lights, a lamphus siren controller, and a kenwood radio. My lights will be. Hideaways in my headlights, fog lights, brake lights, and reverse lights. Driver/passenger visor lights, and a 47” deck light in the rear window. A license plate bracket with lights. And 4 6” light heads located on the “pinchwell” on the underside of the cab. 2 behind the from tires and 2 forward of the rear tires. I was wondering if anyone knows the best way I can make all of the controls font into my console is a clean “police setup kind of way”?

 

No help on the control box but, without trying to be mean, wait until you get in with an organization and see what they are using. You are talking about a lot of lights and installation ($$$)- what we'd call a Super Ricky Rescue setup. Don't get me wrong, if you are going to run code you need to be seen- it is statistically the most dangerous thing first responders will do, especially young gungho but inexperienced persons, and needs to be done with utmost caution. One of the things one of my first EVOC instructors said was to always remember, if you don't make it to the scene you've just compounded the problem.

That said, consider getting a magnetic bar to start- often available used from a co-worker who's upgraded. They aren't sexy but they are less expensive, easy to use and give you 360 degree visibility. No issues with resale value since no holes drilled (or if you decide it's not for you and you don't want to do it anymore for some reason) and you can sell them to the next person when you upgrade. Light bars on top have reduced glare issues compared to flip down visor lights.

Whatever you do, make sure they hook up the dimmer and that you use it at night. All of the idiots out there who refuse to dim their blinding strobes at night when on the side of the road are making it more dangerous for everyone- and it's all but impossible to get them to accept that. Target fixation is a very real thing and blinding drivers when they're looking towards an accident or scene only makes things worse.

 

I appreciate the advice. I do agree with the dimming thing. But I was t going to run flip down visors. They would be mounted to the mounting brackets that hold the visor up. But could be removed for resale. Also it is a volunteer fire department not paid or full time

 

@Bajatacoma your last paragraph is spot on. These busy bars now a days are stupid bright for use at night without dimming. The staties up here use them full brightness at night and it's blinding. I always end up looking away and down when i see them at night.

 

Yeah our highway patrol is notorious for them and no matter what you tell them, most will absolutely not believe that they are making our scene more unsafe. The piercing blue LED lights seem to be especially blinding and make it hard for passing drivers to see shadows and movement which help them identify hazards on scene; it's even worse with aging drivers who typically don't see as well at night (our night vision goes as we age) and those who have had eye procedures.


Safety when responding to incidents is a big issue with me and something I always stress heavily when training new hires. I've been in a couple of accidents over the years (ambulance struck by other drivers) and have been to a couple of funerals resulting from poor decision making. We lose far too many people in the first responder community each year to avoidable accidents. One of the things that GPS has been useful for is to show new people that hauling ass doesn't save much time- especially when you weigh it against the effects of having an accident.

I'll get off my soapbox now, sorry to derail the OP's thread.

Whelen makes a couple of control boxes that would probably work for mounting alongside the console.

 

My apologies as well...
Back to the topic at hand... Why not use a RAM mount or something similar mounted to the floor or seat rail.
Then U bolts to mount the radio and lighting controller brackets to the RAM arm

 

Haven’t thought about the ram mount. But I will look into it

 

Whatever you end up doing, post up pics and details for any future readers please. Helps out the forum a lot.

 

I will. If I don’t run the magnetic bar like @Bajatacoma mentioned. If I did the mounted visor lights and the hideaways and everything I listed in my first post it would run ~$1400. If I install it myself. It would just take some time to make sure it is wired right with soldered connections instead of those crappie “butt” connectors. I like for things to be neat and clean. Which is why I wanted the equipment console. But I’ll just have to work with what I’ve got.


But when I get around to doing it I will post pictures, links, and how I did it for anyone who wants to know!

 

The whole idea of people with personal vehicles having lights and sirens on them baffles me. I guess different areas use different approaches to getting personnel to the scene, so whatever works for you guys.

If that is what you have planned I’d also look into a 2nd battery and larger alternator along with professional installation (so your PV doesn’t end up on the side of the road as another call for the rest of the guys to respond to either on fire from shoddy wiring or in a ditch)

I also hope part of the “light card” requires EVOC as responding to calls for many volunteer departments is typically more dangerous than the call itself since by the time crews arrive it’s a surround and drown anyway.

Whatever you decide, just please be safe. I remember when I volunteered and looking back on it from the other side, it’s a flawed system that needs to be addressed.

 

^+1 to both of these here

Why would you ever need to roll code 3 in your POV? Are you an officer? If so why doesn’t your dept allow you the use of a GOV?

In all reality what good will you do arriving on scene via POV without going to station 1’st for bunker gear, trauma equipment or an appropriate apparatus for the call type?

 

This is one of, if not the best threads on adding accessories to the Tacoma:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-build-and-install-a-bussmann-rtmr-fuse-relay-block.399454/

It might not get into your exact set up but will give you what you need both inside for the switches and outside for the accessories.

There are members here who offer pre-assembled Bussmanns.

Good Luck OP, thanks for serving your community. Be safe out there.

Edit: I live in rural NH where there are mostly volunteer firefighters who provide a valuable service to the community.
I provided the link with the hopes the OP or any other reader will be responsible to themselves, their department and community to which they serve.

 

Fire Service varies in different parts of the country. I can't speak for OPs department, but all 27 stations in my county are volunteer. Depending on what equipment your station runs (many have commercial cab, 2 seater engines), and where you live in the district, you just don't make the truck. Most of the time, we keep our gear in our POVs, and meet the trucks at the scene.

OP, the small TIR-3 style LEDs are also a discreet option that you can mount on a bracket near the license plate, or possibly in the grille if you get creative.

 

Stated he was gonna be in a VFD. When I was in a a VFD a few of us kept our bunker gear at the house/in our POV and rolled from the house/farm. There were a couple guys that lived right by the station and 98% of the time one of them grabbed the apparatus. I was an EMT and rarely put my gear on and was able to carry most of what I needed in my POV. The only structure fire we had was a chicken house. Most of our calls were car wrecks and forest fires.

OP I don't recommend doing a full install. Like previously mentioned look at doing a mag mount. or just a deck bar and suction windshield mount. It's real easy to get sucked into all the flashing lights, but you WILL be called a Jolly Volley.

 

I will PM you details of my setup

 

I'm a Volunteer Firefighter in NY state and we get a blue light card which gives you permission to have 1 blue light mounted on your dash. Allso the blue light is courtesy only and you have to stop at all stop signs, wait at red lights etc. I find this ridiculous to put all these lights in a POV,once at the station , the rigs have all the lights you need . This sounds like someone who's about to turn 18 and turn there POV into a Christmas tree. Slow It down you dont need to cause issues because of your lights. SMH sirens....

 

I'm not sure what the numbers are today but just a couple of years ago I remember reading that approximately 70% of US firefighters were still volunteers. That can be hard for paid firefighters and city folks to understand but in rural areas that's normal. Sometimes they'll have people sign up to man the station for a certain period of time but more often it's whoever is closest to the station gets on the radio and says they'll grab the truck and the rest will meet up at the scene. Gear is issued to the individuals and most carry it with them so it makes sense for them to go directly to the scene and not waste time going back to a station; hence the lights. Plenty of areas within the US not only can't afford full time personnel, their call volume doesn't justify a manned station. Unfortunately, with folks increasingly working outside of the area they reside, increased demands on their time including increased training requirements, etc. it's getting harder and harder to find volunteers in many areas- especially those who will actually respond to anything other than an actual structure fire or possible entrapment, etc. As crazy as it sounds, I do think there is a small number of them that wouldn't do it if they couldn't put lights on their vehicles.

Overall I may give the volunteers crap but I honestly respect them for volunteering their time for their communities. I'll agree wholeheartedly though that it needs to be hammered into folk's heads how dangerous running code is.

 

I understand how the volunteer fire service works, I used to be part of it. It is a backwards system and the argument of cost is foolish. Fire doubles in size every 30 seconds so long as there is enough oxygen and fuel to sustain growth. Response time is everything and not just for fires.... you’re an EMT, or medic so you know how important time is when it comes to strokes and heart attacks. Cluttering a scene with personal vehicles so that laying a supply line or tanker relay (for the rural folk) can’t function is a big problem. Also, watching how [many] volunteers respond is another issue. Getting to the scene (and safely) is the most important part of a call. When one has to race to tne station to get their gear, and then get into a rig, and then still having to respond to the actual call is a flawed system. Handing teenagers a ”license” to run code 3 is just a recipe for issues. Subscribe to the secret list at www.firefighterclosecalls.com and you’ll quickly realize how many LODD’s are caused by responding to calls, and lax physical requirements along with age. The fire service is not a hobby.... It’s more than just a pager and a t-shirt. There is a reason why volunteer cops are rare and volunteer surgeons are just not a thing. There are too many requirements to be successful for it to be fit into a past-time when someone isn’t at their job.

 

First off, I like the username. That’s my nickname lol. But yes most of us keep our gear in our POV. And from town to station takes 10-15 minutes depending on traffic and red lights. However from my house if I drive like I normally do (lead footed) I can get to station in about 5 minutes or less. Maybe more if they’re doing road work. I just want them so people know I’m coming and hopefully can attempt to yield or get out of the way if it is a major call. I.e. large structure fire, traumatic medical call, or a major wreck. I’m not stupid like some people who put lights and sirens on their POV and think they’re the cops. I was involved in a wreck in my Tacoma right before Christmas. I was rear ended at the end of the private road that I live on which is like o said about 5 minutes give or take from the station. And I realized then that response times are slower because not a lot of people know about the light permit. You just have to give your tag number, vin number, indicate why you need them. I have attached a pdf of the application. But i feel that it would’ve shortened the response time.

 

Yeah, I'm aware of how fire and fire services work and also very aware that volunteer services are lacking in many ways, I've worked with them in the past including teaching classes, but until small, poorer and rural communities come up with a way to increase funding there is no way they are going to get full time "professional" firefighters, full time medics or full time police officers. You may not agree that costs should be a factor but in the real world they very much are- you and I may want to see full time rescue personnel staged within reasonable response times but try explaining to a largely agricultural county how they need to spend hundreds of thousands, that they don't have, on equipment and full time personnel when the volunteers in parts of that country only run a couple of mixed calls a month. Most people just don't think about emergency services until they need them, often erroneously assuming that they have crews nearby- just the way it is. Until such time as local governments find a way to staff full time stations, many communities in the US will have to rely on volunteers.

Further, if you'll take the time to look back at the top of this thread you'll notice who was the first one advocating safety first. My subsequent posts reiterated safe operation as a priority. I've always advocated for EVOC being mandatory for anyone operating any emergency vehicle and all persons need to be periodically reminded of their state's legal requirements and responsibilities; in SC for example, section D of SC Code 56-5-760 (2013) states: (D) The provisions of this section do not relieve the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons. In other words, the driver will be held accountable for the operation of emergency vehicle.

The OP asked a question about lights and, as politely as I could since I have no idea how old the OP is or his level of maturity, I put on my old FTO cap and attempted to provide some advice to hopefully help him be a safe responder. He sounds like he's got his head screwed on right and will be an asset to his department. Like yourself apparently, a lot of the paid guys got their starts as volunteers. I am not nor have I ever been a volunteer, and I've often been the first to lay into them when they screw up, but the condescending attitude of many paid guys towards the volunteers doesn't help anyone's cause- least of all the fire service.
I can't believe I'm defending hydrant monkeys here....