History of Tanker Shuttles

Here is a brief history of multiple tanker shuttle.

The standards used for the “Superior Tanker Shuttle Service Accreditation” come from material that has been in existence for many years, and were adopted by the Insurance Service Office (ISO) in the United States.

The International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) refers to multiple tanker shuttle evaluation (accreditation) as far back in their 1974 Pump Operations Training Manual. It is also in the IFSTA "Essentials of Fire Fighting". The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) references it in their Pumping Operations Standards.

The Insurance Services Office (ISO), the U.S. placed it into their Rating Schedule in 1980. The “Fire Department Water Supply Handbook” by William F. Eckman, a Fire Engineering (Penwell) publication, illustrates the procedure (process) for carrying out and evaluating multiple tanker - multiple portable water tank water shuttles.

The process has been standardized for many years. Mike McKenna took his training in 1986 at training courses in New York State, at his own expense and on his own time. Mike McKenna was then appointed by Fire Underwriters’ Survey (FUS) to be the contact / lead person with the Insurance Bureau of Canada concerning the issue. He received immediate backing from American based companies, who had been accepting the process for years.

As luck would have it, Michael’s next FUS survey was in West Tilbury Township. While there, he met Bob Miner, an insurance broker in Comber, Ontario, and also the Deputy Fire Chief of the Tilbury West Township Fire Department. He started to "push" for water tanker shuttle in Ontario (and Canada) through the Insurance Brokers’ Association. It became a reality, in 1989, with Tilbury West being the first fire department in Canada to do a "Superior Tanker Shuttle Service Accreditation".

This above phrase was coined by Bob Miner, in order to differentiate it from the Insurance Bureau of Canada (I.B.C.), "Specified Tanker Service" nomenclature, which is a lesser standard that is not tested or evaluated for effectiveness. He used it in his own Brokerage, and then suggested the term to other Brokers at meetings in Lambton and Kent Counties. At the time he was also the president of the Ontario Insurance Brokers, and introduced the term at their meetings.

Meanwhile at FUS, there were conversations on what term to use for this classification, and how to incorporate it into the grading lists. At first the term “Shuttle Tanker Service” (STS) was suggested. During Mike’s further meetings and conversations with Bob Miner, he told me about the use of the term he coined “Superior Tanker Shuttle Service” was being used among Ontario insurance brokers. It seemed to Mike to be the answer to what to call the accreditation, and he approached other FUS personnel on the term. There was agreement, and so Mike McKenna approached Bob Miner about FUS also having permission to use the term he had coined. He was in agreement, and FUS adopted his term for the newly approved classification.

Multiple tanker water shuttles have only been a reality in some municipalities as most rural fire departments have not had the availability of multiple tankers, with which to carry out a successful water shuttle. Up until the last 20 years or so, most fire departments have only had 1 or 2 tankers available to them. It takes at least 3, and preferably 4 or more tankers, in order to do a successful multiple tanker water shuttle. The idea then became adopted to use a form of automatic aid to provide sufficient apparatus to qualify for accreditation.

We thought you might find this information of value to your Company / Municipality. "Superior Tanker Shuttle Service", was originally coined thanks to Broker Bob Miner, and this term has now become widely used to describe the classification in the insurance industry.