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SPRUCE PINE FIRE DEPT CASE STUDYHow identification helped a volunteer fire house save time & reduce equipment costs

About the Fire House: Spruce Pine Fire Department

The Spruce Pine Fire Department (SPFD) is one of eight volunteer fire houses located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Mitchell County, North Carolina. The SPFD has a team of approximately 50 volunteer fire fighters, led by Fire Chief David Hughes for the past 10 years.

The Challenge: Time-consuming, ineffective equipment pickup and inventory

Like many volunteer fire houses throughout the country, the SPFD is challenged to be as cost-effective and efficient as possible. The house operates on a small county budget and many of its fire fighters clock out of their regular jobs to respond to a fire call. It’s important to get the team back to their jobs and families as soon as possible, and keep costs down whenever possible.

But in the past, that wasn’t always happening. The clean up time and return time would often take up to two hours per fire call. The SPFD had the exact same equipment as the other fire houses, which made it difficult to identify their equipment from that of the other fire houses. The SPFD fire fighters would spend hours after a call figuring out which equipment belonged to their station.

As a result of the disheveled cleanup, there were times when the SPFD would return to the station with less equipment than they had started with. This was a big concern for the fire house, as each house was responsible for paying for its own equipment.

With the possibility of losing $400 regulation axes and $1,000 air packs, the SPFD needed to find an identification solution that would ensure all of their equipment would return to the station – in a timely, efficient manner.

The Solution: County-wide color coded identification system with Brady labels

After trying several other identification options without success, the SPFD turned to Brady to find a labeling solution that would hold up in their environment.

“We had tried everything,” said Hughes. “Metal stamps and a hammer, office labelers, the Dymo click marker, spray paint… you name it. But nothing ever stayed on too good. We’d think we’d have it marked, and then we’d go out on a call and come back and have to re-identify everything. With Brady, we’ve finally found something that works.”

The county purchased one Brady labeler for the eight fire houses to share, and each house was responsible for purchasing its own vinyl tape from Brady.

Together with the other houses, the SPFD developed a color coded identification system that would be used to mark each house’s equipment. The SPFD’s color was blue; the neighboring house had red labels; one had white labels; and so on.

“We were really skeptical at first. We thought we’d be changing a lot of labels. A lot of guys thought it’d be a

waste of time. But we’re 4 years into this project, and we’re still using the same original vinyl tape today that we

put on 4 years ago. They’re still stuck, and they’re not fading.” - David Hughes, SPFD Fire Chief

David Hughes, SPFD Fire Chief

© 2010 Brady Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

www.BradyID.com/bmp71 1-888-250-3089

The SPFD marked all of its equipment with blue vinyl tape that read “SPFD.” Blue labels were applied on equipment throughout the fire truck and facility, including axes, pike pulls, halogen bars, nozzles, air packs, hoses, flanges, chain saws, gas cans, first aid kits, and more. Some pieces of equipment, like air packs, were marked with unique identification numbers as well. These numbers are now used to monitor when certain air packs are scheduled for maintenance or need to be refilled.

“We label everything,” said Hughes. “And the reason is simple: we’d much rather replace a label than replace a $1000 air bottle. Those labels help us make sure that every piece of equipment comes back with us. With that kind of cost justification, it’s a no brainer.”

According to Hughes, the Brady vinyl tape has held up better than any other identification products they’ve used in the past. Even labels that we applied four years ago are still stuck to the equipment, without any fading or smearing.

“Some of our Brady labels see 2,000 degree heat on the back of an air pack. And despite all that abuse, 99% of the time the labels are still stuck on the equipment – which means it’s coming back to the station.”

In addition to labeling their truck equipment, the SPFD has also used the Brady labeler to identify other areas of their facility. They use Brady labels to mark their maintenance shelves and bays and identify places for hoses, wrenches, claw hammers, and other tools. In their office area, labels are used to organize books, manuals, binders and other office equipment in a professional-looking, easy-to-find manner.

The Results: Reduced cleanup time, expedited equipment inventory and improved morale

After identifying their equipment and facility, the SPFD saw immediate improvements in time savings, productivity & morale.

A check-in process for inventorying equipment that had previously taken an hour now takes a mere 15 minutes. And most importantly, the team’s turnaround time has been drastically reduced. The time it takes to clean up equipment and return to the station after a fire has now been cut in half. Each fire house can quickly identify which equipment belongs to their team by the color of the label – making it easier than ever to collect their equipment and return to the station.

“Labeling has changed the entire morale of our team,” said Hughes. “Before, the guys were a little apprehensive about going on a call because it took so long. Now the pick up time and return time has been cut in half. The guys are much more eager to help out because they know they’ll get back to their jobs and their families in a timely manner,” said Hughes.

For more information on the Brady BMP™71 label printer or other printers, visit www.BradyID.com/bmp71.

Other Brady Products in the SPFD Fire House:

In addition to label printers and tape, the SPFD also uses a variety of other Brady products in their fire house and on their trucks. Their fire trucks have Brady lockout tags, hasps and padlocks to protect them from electrical hazards during emergencies. They also carry a variety of SPC sorbents to help with spills. To learn more about Brady’s complete line of safety, identification and compliance products, visit www.BradyID.com.

“The guys are much more

eager to help out because

they know they’ll get back to

their jobs and their families

in a timely manner.”

- David Hughes, SPFD Fire Chief