Glen Arbor firefighters climb high with new ladder truck

By Jane Greiner
Sun contributor
Firefighters at the Glen Arbor Township Fire Department are proud of their new state-of the-art ladder truck, a Pierce Quint, number Q331. They were eager to bring it out and set it up for photographs and a demonstration of the incredibly long ladder. Firefighter, EMT Andrew Anthony stabilized the 70,000-pound truck with big side struts then climbed up to the console and ran the ladder. Firefighter, EMT Rachel Schaap, who had come in on a day off to help demonstrate the new truck, donned firefighting gear and climbed the ladder all the way to the top. Asked how it felt to climb up that high on the narrow, seemingly fragile extended ladder, she simply replied, “It’s fun!”

The ladder is the most visible feature of the new truck. It is 105 feet long when fully extended, which Firefighter Anthony compared to a 10-story building. Of course there are no buildings that high in this area, but a long ladder is needed, he explained, because the big truck would usually need to be set up on the road. Homes in this area are often set back 40 feet from the road, so the first 40 feet of ladder are needed just to reach the building, in addition to another 10 feet or so to account for the angle of the ladder. So “those two factors alone can use up half the effective length of the ladder.”
In fact, every facet of the new truck was carefully thought out, planned for, and written into the specifications for the purchase order. Deputy Chief John Dodson, NREMTP (Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician Paramedic) who was involved in every step of the process, says the final specifications for the engine ran to 118 pages. “It was completely custom built for us in Appleton, Wisconsin,” he said. “Everything including the horn button is custom built, including all the fundamentals.” The specs were developed by a committee, which worked two and a half years to determine exactly what was needed.
“We tried different trucks of different lengths to figure out what works and what didn’t. Some trucks were too long, some ladders were too short,” he added.
Before the Glen Arbor Fire Department bought the truck, a demo model of the same size was driven around to places like Tamarack Cove (behind Fisher Road), Arbor Pines and all around The Homestead resort to test that it could negotiate the tight turns and restricted spaces. “A lot of people didn’t think this truck could go down there,” Dodson said.
The new truck is called a “Quint,” which stands for its five functions: hose, water tank, ground ladder, aerial ladder and pump.
The hose is used to deliver water or foam to the fire and can be run directly off the truck at ground level or off the end of the ladder.
The water tank holds 300 gallons, “which doesn’t seem like a lot,” Dodson said, “but the foam system makes the water ten times more effective.” Water only cools the fire. Foam works better because it is “carbon attractive” which means it actually penetrates better and suffocates the fire more efficiently than water.
The pump can move 2,000 gallons of water per minute. The pump is primarily for water and foam delivery, but it can also be used to pump water in from a fire hydrant or lake to supply water directly to the Quint hoses or can be connected in tandem to other trucks.
In addition to the huge aerial ladder, the truck also boasts “special ground ladders that will go 35 feet, and this is the only truck in the fleet that can carry those extra long ladders,” Dodson said.
“People may wonder why we bring a ladder truck to a car accident,” he remarked. Each truck at an accident is there because of the systems it has available. This new truck has so many support systems all on the one vehicle; it will replace three of the older trucks at an accident and will “dramatically increase efficiency.” It has a generator for electricity, an air compressor and air hydraulics for rescue equipment like the jaws-of-life, hydraulics for various tools, plus the hose and foam system for fire suppression. It is actually more efficient, and will save money, to bring the one big multi-function truck rather than three smaller vehicles, each with its own crew.
Even the color of the new truck was given careful consideration. Some years back a belief held that lime green was more visible than the traditional red vehicles. Ironically, Dodson said, it hasn’t proven to make a difference. Plus, the lime green cost more than the red paint. Fire Departments are very traditional, he added, and now many are going back to the old fire engine red. In fact, some people wanted to use the old red and black color scheme, like the Chicago fire department, where the black trim traditionally stands for fallen firefighters. But the decision was made for Glen Arbor to go with the red and white combination.
The new truck is the second in a series of four new trucks the department is acquiring to replace older equipment. The new fleet will consist of two water tankers, for hauling water, this new aerial ladder, which is also a rescue truck, and a pumper. The old rescue truck will go to the Empire Fire Department where they expect to keep it in service for another year or two while going through the process of obtaining a new replacement.
A pumper was the first of the new trucks and funded by an anonymous donation.
The ladder truck, second of the four, cost $726,000 and was publicly funded through the local millage. The remaining two will also be publicly funded.
Q331 is not yet officially on the road. There are a few bits of hardware still to be mounted, plus training is still going on for the crew. So far 21 people, including nine from the Empire Fire Department, have had 16 hours of preliminary training. They have 16 more hours to go for a total of 32 hours.
Training includes safe driving, proper placement and set up of the apparatus, operation of the ladder, operation of the water and foam pump systems, and special review of aerial work and rescue operations.
Dodson noted that all this training is in addition to the 60 hours fire fighters have already undergone to be certified to drive fire apparatus. Training for the new truck should be complete and the fire engine ready to be put into service by August 1.
The Glen Arbor Township Fire Department supplies residents with 24 hour a day, 7 days a week advanced life support and firefighting services with a combination staff of paid and volunteer members.
Public Invited
The Department is making efforts to provide opportunities for the public to see the new equipment. On July 8 the firefighters held a “Fire Fighter for a Day” event in which youngsters were invited to come down and get acquainted with the fire fighters and the equipment.
On July 29 an Open House will be held at the fire station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Everyone is welcome. There will be displays and demonstrations of equipment such as fire extinguishers, air pumps, and medical equipment with staff on hand to answer questions. Tours of the building will be given. In addition, all the trucks and vehicles will be on display and balloons and treats available for the kids. This is an opportunity to go see all the fire equipment including the new ladder truck. Perhaps some brave soul will even be allowed to climb the ladder.
For further information call the Glen Arbor Fire Department 334-3279