When the Fire Alarm Goes Off, Caterpillar Engines Respond
Paul McCulley of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Halifax, Nova Scotia, describes how 37 Caterpillar® engines with ACERT™ Technology help his fire truck fleet respond immediately to emergencies.
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Caterpillar Delivers Increased Reliability, Fuel Economy to Concord Trailways
When you are responsible for an over-the-road motorcoach line that operates nearly 24/7 and logs more than four million miles a year, you can't afford problems with your engines. That's why Concord Trailways turned to Caterpillar.
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When the Fire Alarms Go Off, Caterpillar Engines Respond

When the alarm sounds, fire trucks must respond. There is virtually no room for error when responding to an emergency situation.

That's why Paul McCulley, superintendent of the emergency fleet with the Halifax Regional Municipality in Halifax, Nova Scotia, uses 37 Caterpillar® engines with ACERT™ Technology in his fleet.

"Fire services require equipment that when an alarm goes, the door goes up and they go out," says McCulley, whose municipality serves a population of about 380,000. "If an engine fails to start or breaks down along the way, those are critical times. It could mean somebody's life could be in danger if we are unable to respond."

McCulley says the fire apparatus used by the Halifax Regional Municipality contains the maximum amount of water, gear, equipment and manpower possible. "Being fully loaded at all times, we needed an engine that was lightweight enough to get us more load-bearing capacity on the front axle but not too light," he notes. "That's a real benefit for us to use Caterpillar engines."

In Halifax, where the weather can change quickly, McCulley notes that "the best service is the fact that we haven't needed any service. The engines have performed very well under a variety of conditions, and I'm sure they will continue to do so."

Halifax has a well-deserved reputation as a foggy and misty city with an average of 122 days with fog each year. When you add in one or two major Atlantic snowstorms each year that paralyze the area, you get an indication of the stresses that can be put on an engine.

"The performance of the Cat C9 engine and the combination of the powertrain in the apparatus far exceeded what we expected," McCulley says. "We were very pleased."

The Regional Municipality currently uses nine Caterpillar C-12 engines, and 15 C9s and 13 C13s with ACERT™ Technology. The C9 and C13 engines (350 and 410 horsepower, respectively) are designed for a top speed of 110 kilometers (nearly 70 mph) and a rear-end ratio of around 4-to-10 for good fuel economy and power for the area's numerous hills. The standard warranty period for Caterpillar C7 and C9 on-highway engines is 60 months/6,000 operating hours. For C13 engines, it is 60 months/200,000 miles.

The power to respond to emergencies depends on the power of the equipment. Previous Caterpillar engines have been proven over millions of miles of use under the most demanding of circumstances. The 2007 engines with ACERT Technology continue that trend with the same performance, reliability and overall value while meeting tougher emissions regulations.

McCulley says his 37 years of experience with Caterpillar equipment in the offshore fishing and mining industries and 22 years with fire services give him a good perspective of the company. "Caterpillar's history of service and parts supply in those various industries made me comfortable using them for fire services," he says.

"When we select an engine, we are looking for it to meet our needs over a period of 20 years, and sometimes we need it to last 25," he adds. "During the first 10 years, it is easy to get parts from any vendor. When we go back in the history of the manufacturer, we know that Caterpillar will provide service and parts for the long term."

Caterpillar Delivers Increased Reliability, Fuel Economy to Concord Trailways

When you are responsible for an over-the-road motorcoach line that operates nearly 24/7 and logs more than four million miles a year, you can't afford problems with your engines.

That's why in 2004, Concord Trailways, which operates in the often weather-challenged states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont, turned to Caterpillar. After considerable research, Concord Trailways made the decision to purchase 12 Caterpillar® C13 (410 horsepower) engines with ACERTTM Technology for its motorcoaches.

"Our customers rely on us on a daily basis to get them to and from different ports and different terminals throughout the Northeast," says Frank Asher, maintenance superintendent at Concord Trailways. "We went to trade shows, talked to numerous customers and affiliates of ours in the bus industry, and also spoke with Caterpillar folks at length.

Asher noted that Concord Trailways' issues with previous engines from another manufacturer resulted in turbo problems, cooler problems, EGR cooler issues, multiple sensor problems and some injector issues. He did not want a repeat of those experiences.

"Rain or shine, our customers depend on us to get them to their destinations safely and on time," Asher says. "The dependability Caterpillar has given us has helped make our customers happy and our business a success."

Issue 53 6/5/07
To learn more about Caterpillar On-Highway Engines, please visit:
http://www.cattruckengines.com/.