Simon Mather at CBN did a great job with this up-to-date profile of
Bend-based Deschutes River Manufacturing, maker of the Rookie Sidekick
line of power fire hose rollers. -hoc
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http://www.cascadebusnews.com/index.php?m=2&s=22&id=840
Bright Future for Fire Crew Labor Saving Devices
Deschutes River Manufacturing's 'Rookie' Hose Reel System Looks to
Extend International Reach
Nov 18, 2009
SIMON MATHER CBN Feature Writer
Fire departments from as far afield as Asia and South America are
poised to benefit from trailblazing labor and time-saving devices
pioneered by Central Oregon technical innovators Deschutes River
Manufacturing.
For years, the 'grunt' work involved in hand rolling hoses and lugging
them back to the fire truck following an incident has fallen to newer
fire fighters, tasked with laboriously rolling, squeezing and re-
decking, or reloading, 100-foot-plus lengths.
But in recent times, hoses have grown ever wider and heavier,
especially when residual air and water needing to be expelled is
factored in, and the ante has been upped regarding back injury risk
for effective weights that can hover over150 pounds.
Pondering the situation led Deschutes River Manufacturing's founder
David Johnston to tap 27 years of mechanical experience as a
millwright to develop an ingenious portable, motorized fire hose
roller first launched onto the market in 2002.
Since then, the Bend-based company has been revolutionizing the way
industrial, municipal and wildland firefighters in the U.S. and Canada
work, while recently great strides have been made towards spreading
the word on a global scale.
Named after the crew members who traditionally handled hose heavy
lifting, the 'Rookie' line features portable fire hose rollers that
quickly roll fire hoses up to 7-1/4 inches in diameter at the scene,
enabling fire fighters to manage hoses rapidly, easily and safely,
while saving their energy and physical condition for the demanding
front line fire suppression work. Models are equipped with a gas
engine or electric motor, with larger variants featuring variable-
speed controls.
The Rookie, which rolls hoses up to 1 1/2 inches in diameter, is one
of the company's several products, which also include: The Rookie
Sidekick, which is smaller but more powerful and fits on the back of a
four-wheeler and rolls 3/4- to 3-inch hoses; The Rookie Sidekick LDH,
which rolls a 5-inch hose; The Rookie Reloader, which allows
firefighters to transfer the hose back to the vehicles; and The Rookie
All-In-One, which utilizes adjustable pins to roll from 1 1/2- to 7 ¼-
inch hoses and comes with a reloader and portable stand.
Firefighters have welcomed the breakthrough of a modern hose
management system, lauding it as saving a significant amount of time
compared to doing the job by hand and without risk of back injuries
from stooping over to roll and lift.
The Rookie Sidekick is currently being used by fire suppression
agencies and firefighters from Texas to Canada, including the U.S.
Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management,
power utilities and municipal fire departments. Industrial customers
include Hagemeyer, Union Carbide-Dow Chemical, Marathon Oil, Conoco-
Phillips, Exxon-Mobil and Suncor.
"After our department tried The Rookie Sidekick, we felt it was a
piece of equipment we had to have," commented Gary Spoor, assistant
chief, South Bend VFD, South Bend Washington. "We recently upgraded to
5-inch hose on our engines. The Rookie Sidekick has helped us out with
that for two main reasons: one is safety — the larger diameter hose is
heavier, harder to handle and more likely to cause back injuries. And
the other is time — The Rookie does a better job getting air out of
the hose for redecking it."
Johnston, formerly with Kor-Pine/Willamette Industries in Bend before
Weyerhaeuser acquired then shuttered the company and he parlayed a
knack for numbers and mechanical technology into his own business,
commented: "We are committed to continually researching, developing
and field testing the highest quality, best designed fire hose
handling equipment technology available today to make fire fighting
easier and safer for the men and women who put their lives on the line
every day."
Johnston continues to refine design elements including a recent change
to the Sidekick Stand for increased maneuverability, and improved foot
pedal cable connections.
For James Norman, chief of the East Bend Volunteer Fire Department in
North Carolina, The Rookie has saved him and his crew the two-hour job
of rolling mile-long hoses back on the truck. The hoses need to be
long enough to reach from a pond - or other water source - to the fire
scene. Done in 100-foot increments, rolling the hose back up takes
less than an hour with The Rookie, Norman said.
"I tell you what, that's a great machine that saves lots of time,"
Norman said. "It pushes all the water and air out of the hose, which
then lays flatter on the truck than when you do it by hand."
DRM has ratcheted up efforts to expose its product on a wider basis,
with the help of new sales manager Steve Grediagin, who said he is
enjoying hitting the road and showing customers first-hand "what a
quality, industrial grade machine it is."
He added that he was already talking to fire departments as diverse as
Hong Kong and Brazil about adopting the systems, adding: "With a
proven track record of customers that includes every major U.S. public
land management agency, some of the world's largest energy companies,
water utilities and fire departments on three continents, the
potential is enormous to help save these departments money, personnel
and time."
DRM is increasingly tapping into other vertical markets that use large-
diameter hoses, including municipal water systems. The City of Bend's
Water Reclamation Department purchased a Rookie Sidekick this year to
roll up the fire hose it uses to pump out sewer lines during
maintenance and repairs.
The industrial sector - oil refineries and chemical companies - is
also quickly becoming a hot market.
"(The Rookie products) really cut down on the manpower and cut down on
time," said Becky Gibson, vice president of sales and marketing for
TSI Inc., the company that distributes Johnston's products to the oil
and chemical companies up and down the Gulf Coast. "It also is a
safety issue for saving people's back, that sort of thing."
"They have an incredible product that the market needs," she said from
Baton Rouge, La. "It's just a matter of getting it out in the
marketplace."
And that effort is being boosted by contact with a business
development analyst at the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council to
begin to explore market opportunities in the oil fields of the Middle
East.
This is just one of the several new export markets the company has
been able to make in-roads into – with the support of Alexa Hamilton,
Global Trade Specialist at Business Oregon, the export assistance arm
of the State of Oregon Business Development Department, and Gail
Snyder with the U.S. Department of Commerce Commercial Service in
Portland.
Grediagin added that on the domestic front sales were also growing,
and involvement with the General Services Administration (GSA)
government procurement system had seen three Sidekick rollers recently
sold to Alaska Fire Service.
Just in the last few weeks sales have also been executed with Columbia
River Gorge Scenic Area, U.S. Forest Service Three Rivers Ranger
District in Washington – a repeat customer with five units - Fluor
Hanford (environmental clean-up contractor at Hanford Nuclear
Reservation in Washington) and repeat customer Conoco Phillips in Texas.
Deschutes River Manufacturing, .877-868-1951; www.the-rookie.com
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