About Florian ReApparatus

Emergency Responders across the United States respond to thousands of emergency incidents on limited access highways and other high-speed roadways every day. Despite all 50 states having "move over" laws, each year dozens of Emergency Responders in the US are killed and many more are seriously injured as a result of being struck while operating at roadway incidents. In the past 4 years (2019 -2022), the Emergency Responder Safety Institute (ERSI) reports that vehicles struck and killed 205 emergency responders who were working various types of roadway incidents.

In an effort to protect responders and victims at roadway incidents, accepted Traffic Incident Management (TIM) principles require first arriving emergency responders to position their vehicles in a manner that shields the initial incident and provides a protected work area for responders. Many TIM programs call for fire apparatus to be used as blocking devices due to their size and weight. Some departments deploy additional fire apparatus to roadway incidents specifically to be used as blocking or shadow vehicles. While this is an effective measure of protecting emergency responders, it does not provide protection for the "D" drivers that strike them. The collateral impact of frontline apparatus being struck and significantly damaged can be detrimental to a department's ability to provide adequate fire protection for the community it serves, as the time to repair or replace damaged apparatus is often measured in months. Our vision offers a common sense solution to aid the fire service in achieving its' primary mission: Save lives and protect property.

Who We Are

Founder & President

Greg Andersen

Long before Greg become a small business owner and entrepreneur, building Garden State Iron Inc. and Hunter Fe LLC., he had a successful career in the structural steel, construction industry. On the morning of 9/11/2001, Greg was working as a project manager for a terminal renovation at Newark Airport and witnessed the World Trade Center attacks. Although Greg had no prior first responder experience, he was filled with an overwhelming sense of duty to help. In the days following the attack, he worked the Ground Zero pile on bucket brigades. Through this experience Greg developed deep respect and appreciation for first responders and the sacrifices they make. He was determined to someday contribute something that would help protect our emergency responders. Florian ReApparatus was conceived from Greg's ingenuity after learning about the ongoing issue of responders being killed and seriously injured while working at roadway incidents.

Director of Fire Apparatus

John Gonzalez

Prior to joining Florian ReApparatus, John worked in the insurance industry for nearly 25 years, most recently in the Special Investigation Unit of a Fortune 500 Property & Casualty carrier. John's fire service career began in January 1991 in Ocean County, NJ, where he continues to serve as an active volunteer firefighter and mentor to upcoming fire officers. Chief Gonzalez served as a fire officer for 15 years, 6 at Chief level, including 2 years as the District Chief for one of the largest all volunteer departments in NJ. He also served 4 years as a Deputy Fire Coordinator in a municipal Office of Emergency Management. He is an active member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, having successfully completed the Chief Officer Leadership Symposium levels I & II, and recipient of the 2022 Gary Briese IAFC Safety Performance Award. Chief Gonzalez has attained Pro Board certification as a Traffic Control Incident Management Person.

"'D" Drivers

In recent years, the phrase "D" drivers has become more widely known across the emergency service community and the list of applicable "D" words continue to grow. The danger that "D" drivers pose to emergency responders often presents itself with little warning or time to react and the consequences are often severe. Implementing effective strategies to protect against "D" drivers must begin long before you face them in real time while in the field.

Repurpose

Industry standards suggest firefighting apparatus have a predetermined service life and these vehicles are often replaced on a designated schedule. Although these vehicles have reached the end of their recommended service life as firefighting vehicles, many are still mechanically sound and can be repurposed in a way that will add measureable value to your department. Give your decommissioned apparatus a second service life, by continuing to save lives and protecting property in a fiscally responsible innovative way.

Our Commitment to Quality & Detail

Our custom fabricated Florian TMAs are designed and constructed in the United States by local master fabricators. We only utilize the highest quality attenuator systems available in the traffic safety industry today.

Each of our trucks is equipped with brand new, industry leading components including US made,

MASH tested and passed attenuator systems, and MUTCD complaint arrow or variable message boards that are fully deployable from within the cab, keeping the driver operator off of the roadway during deployment.

The Florian TMA is designed and built to get the job done.