In the past week there have been multiple fire apparatus roll overs. Far too many in fact. But anyways let's talk about the safety difference between a custom and commercial cab. Custom cabs are designed to minimize crush in a rollover, commercial cabs do not have that and generally in a roll over crush like a pop can. So the thought occurred to me the other day was doesn't the NFPA require a roll cage type protection for commercial cab fire apparatus? It would still keep the cost of a commercial cab lower than a custom cab but offer at least minimal protection in the event of a roll over accident.
Lets be clear, I am no fan of commercial cab fire apparatus. Amongst other things they waste 3 to 4 feet of space in the cab for the engine sitting out front. They do not have near the turning radius of a custom cab chassis. And lets be frank, cab space and arrangement sucks unless you put a Pope Mobile type crew compartment on it. There are more reasons but that should suffice to make my opinion known.
Lets be clear, I am no fan of commercial cab fire apparatus. Amongst other things they waste 3 to 4 feet of space in the cab for the engine sitting out front. They do not have near the turning radius of a custom cab chassis. And lets be frank, cab space and arrangement sucks unless you put a Pope Mobile type crew compartment on it. There are more reasons but that should suffice to make my opinion known.
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