The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
TO THE RESCUE
Fire Department looks forward to putting new truck into service
Concord Township Fire Chief Matt Sabo had a comparison for his excitement over his department taking possession of their new pumper rescue truck.
He compared that to that of a little boy on Christmas morning who received a toy with some assembly required with it taking dad months to assemble it.
The new truck has been in the works for nearly six years, and the fire department received it on Jan. 29.
Research for the truck started back in 2012 and the first meeting with the manufacturer took place in 2016.
Due to the small bay that the fire station had, the truck had to be custom built to be able to fit through the door.
The truck will be replacing the one the department purchased in 1996 as a heavy rescue truck. The older truck will be primarily used for firefighting purposes.
Although the department has received the truck, it can’t be put into service until it is fitted with radios and equipment and the firefighters are trained on some of the new features.
The up-fitting started on Feb. 11, after the truck was returned from having the chassis and everything underneath undercoated to protect it from salt damage.
According to the chief, the
general consensus is that everyone at the station is thrilled in the same way as getting a new car.
“This (truck) will be with us for like 20 years. It’s a big investment, but my philosophy is these guys and gals can’t do the job if they don’t have the tools,” Sabo said. “I can’t expect them to perform at a high level if they don’t have the tools that allow them to do that. That’s what I go by, whether you’re talking about trucks, fire engines, heavy rescues, ambulances or the equipment that’s on them.”
The chief anticipates it
will take a couple of months to completely fit the truck before it’s ready to be rolled out and put in service.
While all the extraction equipment and tools are transferred from the old truck to the new one, and a radio system is installed, the firefighters will be training on the new features, such as, the scene lighting, which is two LED lights on a telescoping pole that extends about 20 feet in the air from the top of the truck.
The chief thought it was important to have this on the new truck because nobody has adequate lighting for crashes that happen in the middle of the night. Now they can bring lighting with them.
In addition to a tank that holds water, the new truck has a tank that can dispense foam for a car or structure fire and a digital control that allows the pump operator to select the concentration of foam they need depending on the type of fire.
Firefighters will also need to train on the core technology and quick connect system.
The new truck operates with a hydraulic system that allows the firefighters to quickly connect one hose to the truck and the other end to a tool such as the jaws of life.
This mean they no longer will have to carry a portable pump which requires multiple hoses.