Fire Department removes competing system and upgrades to Plymovent

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With 25-30 members, the White Springs FD of White Springs, New York is an all-volunteer department. Out of the three fire departments in town, White Springs FD has the highest call volume covering commercial and residential neighborhoods.

The challenge

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Prior to Plymovent, White Springs Fire Department (FD) installed another manufacturer’s hose based exhaust removal system. Some issues with the system included faulty installation, poor service, inadequate system performance and safety concerns.

Faulty Installation & Poor Service

Poor Design Layout: Same length exhaust removal systems were installed for all emergency vehicles, despite one vehicle being longer than the others, resulting in the system not working.
Transmitters installed on White Springs fire trucks interfered with their GPS system. When serviced, transmitters couldn’t be fixed, forcing the systems to run solely on pressure switches.
Within 6 months, there were a number of system component failures such as a rubber boot ripping that was never serviced despite requested.

Inadequate System Performance

When a White Springs FD vehicle departed the station, the system was so difficult to disconnect from the vehicle’s tailpipe, the “slinky” system hose repeatedly pulled off the elbow emitting toxic diesel exhaust fumes back into the facility.
When Responders wanted to manually disconnect the system, the magnetic nozzle had to be removed with extreme force. The manufacturers only solution to the Fire Department was to modify by removing 1 of the 3 swivel magnets.
Firefighters complained about bending over to hook up the magnetic nozzle to truck’s tailpipes - it could take up to 2 minutes to match the nozzle with the alignment pins on the tailpipe adapter. Out of frustration, the firefighters would stop using the system.

While in operation, the previous system was also deemed a safety hazard to fire personnel. Assistant Chief McGuigan states that “if you weren’t paying attention when the truck pulled out, with the fan on, the slinky would suck back super quick and could potentially hit someone”.

The solution

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Being completely unsatisfied with their new exhaust removal system installation, performance and service, and the inability to properly protect Responders, in less than one year White Springs FD contacted Plymovent’s authorized dealer Air Cleaning Systems (ACS) of New York.

ACS immediately visited White Springs FD and presented Plymovent’s vehicle exhaust extraction solutions. According to Assistant Chief McGuigan, “the Plymovent demo alone was better than the other manufacturer’s installed system. Plymovent is easy to hook up and take off.” Due to Plymovent’s superior quality product and ACS three decades of installing and servicing systems that work, within just one year White Springs FD chose to retrofit their systems to Plymovent.

The result is the team at White Springs FD is beyond happy with the Plymovent system. To accommodate the larger truck, ACS installed a larger fan and modified the other manufacturer’s track. With more airflow capacity, ACS also installed an extraction arm that the Firefighters use to remove fumes when running tools indoors during the winter months.

With Plymovent’s Magnetic Grabber®, White Springs FD is extremely pleased with the ease of the Plymovent systems connection and disconnection to their trucks. In addition, White Springs Firefighters commented on how Plymovent’s hoses swivel to accommodate the hose moving in and out of the station. As the busiest fire department in their area, White Springs FD also expressed that Plymovent’s Safety Disconnect Handle is a successfully proven product. “There’s no need to bend over and hook up the system, which is how it should be, safe and simple”, says Assistant Chief McGuigan.

Main benefits

Health Minimizes exposure to the dangers of diesel exhaust and hazardous gasses from old and new vehicles.
Cleaner Work Environment Greatly reduced soot deposits throughout firefighter gear and the stations.
Saves Money Reducing investment in air handling equipment and total energy consumption.
Ease of Use System connection from a full standing position and automatic controlled release.
Code Compliant UL and AMCA certified products.
Safety Built-in features consistent with other fire equipment.

Testimonial

“The team at Air Cleaning Systems had the plans for the install memorized, and knew exactly what to do. The installers were there on time every day, and answered any questions I had as to what they were doing and putting up.They were very experienced and quick with installing it. Since Plymovent has been installed, we’ve had no issues or reason to require service to our system. I appreciate that Air Cleaning Systems is always contacting me to make sure I am satisfied.”

Quote by: Jeffrey McGuigan, Assistant Fire Chief at White Springs Fire Department