Fire Department to get new aerial truck

The Lorain Fire Department will order a new tower truck, but it probably will be more than a year until it hits the streets.

On Sept. 22, Lorain City Council approved spending $1.4 million on a Sutphen SPH 100 Aerial Platform, customized for specifications of the Fire Department.

The truck could take 14 to 16 months to arrive in Lorain, said fire Chief Christopher Radman.

It is typical for dealers and fire departments to have a time lag in obtaining new trucks, Radman said.

“They’re not like a car that you buy off the lot,” he said. “They build them per department to fit everybody’s needs.”

It can take a year from signing a contract to buy the truck, to delivery of it, Radman said.

Waiting times are running longer now due to supply chain and worker problems due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, he said.

Lorain Fire Department currently has Tower 1, the aerial truck generally kept at Central Fire Station, 1350 Broadway.

Firefighters take the truck to any locations around the city when needed to put out fires.

The truck is a necessary part of daily fire operations, but is more than 18 years old and no longer is costeffective to repair, Radman said.

He offered a number of reasons and examples for Council to consider: • The tower has been out of service for 70 out of 212 days so far this year.

• Current money spent on parts and repairs is $47,134 for 2021.

• In 2020, $6,815 was spent on repairs and it was out of service for 27 days.

• In 2019, $24,387 was

spent and the tower was out of service for 31 days.

• Equipment used to cut people out of wrecked cars is becoming obsolete and parts are no longer available.

Many replacement parts are unavailable due to the age, Radman said in his memo to Council.

Modern assemblies must be purchased to retrofit at a much higher cost than the individual part if it was available.

The city will use general fund money and fire levy money to pay for the new tower truck. Tower 1 will remain in use until the arrival of the new truck, then serve as a backup aerial, Radman said.

Sutphen is based in Dublin and the company has offered good customer service for parts and upgrades, the chief said.

Tower 1 is a Sutphen truck and apart from overuse, generally has held up well, he said.

RICHARD PAYERCHIN — THE MORNING JOURNAL FILE Lorain Fire Department’s Tower 1aerial truck is seen outside a reported fire at the former United Polish Club in Lorain on March 28, 2018.