The reserve fire engine that malfunctioned and couldn’t pump water when it arrived at the deadly Fremont fire on June 12 had a faulty part. That part, a transmission pad, is now being replaced on 10 other engines as a precaution.
Officials say despite the engine’s failure and the short delay in getting water on the fire, it wouldn’t have made a difference in the blaze that claimed five lives
Our sister site, FremontUniverse.com has more from the fire department here.
Very sad. I know nothing could have helped the victims of the fire.
These are very complex kinds of machines. I have no idea what a transmission pad is, but the article in Fremont Universe says something about “reboot the system” so it must be a mix of electronics and software. Why does everything have to be electronic? My vision of what has to happen is the transmission needed to switch power output from the axle to the pump. Simple concept, like a power take off of a tractor. Why does electronic wizardry need to be involved?
ditto
The automatic transmission control keypad (buttons for drive, neutral, reverse, and gear selection) electronics malfunctioned. Nearly all automatic transmissions are controlled electronically. One could advocate for manual transmissions but those are not without drawbacks as well.
Fire engines have PTOs (power take-offs) to enable the engine to drive the pump. To place E81 in pump, the transmission had to be placed back into drive from neutral after the PTO was in pump. They couldn’t shift the transmission.