July 2007
Special Delivery:
By Tony Lolli
Seeing A Quint In Action Builds Support For Apparatus Purchase
The residents of Ware, Mass., know a good thing when they see it. After a neighboring town’s quint performed impressively on a call in their town, they backed the Ware Fire Department on its third request to buy one.
“In September of 2005, we had a fire in buildings belonging to a church near the edge of town,” recalled Ware Fire Chief Thomas Coulombe. “A quint from a nearby town arrived as mutual aid. When the large group of residents saw its effectiveness in action, they turned out at the next annual town meeting to support our proposal for an apparatus purchase. Their support made the purchase possible.”
He said the department’s two previous requests for a quint had not been approved by the Board of Selectmen, although the town’s Finance Committee did favor buying the apparatus because the anticipated cost would increase each subsequent year. The selectmen, he said, were concerned about the price tag.
Then on the third attempt, Coulombe said, “It was the residents’ support that convinced the select board.” Two-thirds of the 200 residents attending the town meeting voted in favor of purchasing a $758,000 Smeal 100-foot mid-mount aerial.
First Quint
The apparatus carries 128 feet of ALCO-LITE aluminum ground ladders, 1,000 feet of Key Fire 4-inch hose, and is equipped with a Waterous CSUD 2,000 gpm pump, and a 300-gallon UPF tank. The 100-foot steel aerial has a 1,000-pound tip load and is topped with a 1,000 gpm Akron Brass 3578 Stream Master remote-operated monitor.
The Smeal is WFD’s first quint. Department officials chose a 100-foot model because their old aerial, a 1980 Maxim, had a 100-foot straight stick and the crew was accustomed to it. The Smeal was delivered last January and was operational in February.
Other WFD apparatus include a 1987 Central States pumper, a 1982 Hahn pumper, a 1982 Pierce pumper, a 2004 Chevy brush truck, a 2,400-gallon 2004 KME tanker, a 2000 Chevy Tahoe command vehicle and a 2005 Tahoe command vehicle. Rounding out the department’s vehicles are three ambulances – a 1990 Horton, a 1996 Road Rescue and a 2002 Horton.
Tight Fit In 1939 Station
The fire department has 14 career members and 25 paid on-call members. They protect a 35-square-mile service area occupied by 10,000 residents in rural central Massachusetts. The area is home to several former textile mills built in the early 1900s. These four-floor, 300-foot-long buildings are now occupied by smaller retail companies or used as warehouses. A four-story hospital is also in the community. It is a heavily residential area with recent growth in the number of larger homes, especially in the past 10 years.
The original fire station was destroyed by the 1938 flood. A replacement was built in 1939 adjacent to the mills as a precaution, and the Smeal barely fits into the aging station.
The quint’s overall dimensions are 10 feet, 2 inches high by 48 feet, 3 inches long with a wheelbase of 199 inches. The limitations of the fire station was a big factor in the decision to buy the apparatus from Smeal as it was one of the only companies solicited for a bid that would make a unit to fit. The apparatus has clearances of 4 inches on top and 3 inches on each side.
Staffing for the new apparatus depends on the situation, according to Captain Dan Danitis. “For a mutual aid call, we have a minimum crew of five because the quint may be the only apparatus we’re sending,” he said. “We prefer to send a crew of six. For in-town calls we may send the quint with just the driver, but, because the aerial is the third truck sent, there are other firefighters already on the scene.”
The quint, built on a Sirius chassis, is powered by Detroit Diesel Series 60, 515 hp engine. An Allison 4000EVS automatic transmission completes the power train. The apparatus is equipped with Robinson ROM roll-up doors all around and Truck-Lite’s Signal-Stat LED blue rung light system, which provide non-glare lighting the entire length of the ladder. It has a front axle rating of 21,500 pounds and a rear axle rating of 48,000 pounds.
Coulombe said quint has many benefits compared to the old Maxim.
“We almost couldn’t believe the operational differences of this apparatus,” he said. “We appreciate the ease of moving the ladder, the width of the ladder, its stability, the advantage of the aerial nozzle and the over-the-road handling. Having a Harrison 10,000-watt hydraulic generator means power at the flick of a switch without the need for a portable.”
Danitis said he has been impressed by the increased safety of the new apparatus.
“The old ladder had manual screw jacks,” he said. “The Smeal has hydraulic jacks controlled by a computer chip that limits placement and increases safety. Having a basket means not only better safety, but eliminates the need to climb every time. You can hop in and ride it up.”
The older ladder required manually mounting the 3-inch hose while the new apparatus has a built-in, telescoping waterway. The result, Danitis said, is faster deployment.
The quint was purchased from New England Fire Equipment and Apparatus in New Haven, Conn., which provided three days of training for the department. Doug Field was the sales representative.
For information call 402-568-2224 or go to www.smeal.com.
Firefighters with the Ware (Mass.) Fire Department garnered support for purchasing a Smeal 100-foot mid-mount quint after residents saw one in action at a mutual aid fire in their town. (Smeal Photo)
Smeal mid-mount aerial
Dimensions
• 199-inch wheelbase
• 10 feet 2 inch travel height
• 48 feet 3 inch travel length
Chassis
• Smeal Sirius cab
• 21,500 pound front axle
• 48,000 pound rear axle
• 515 hp Detroit Diesel Series 60 engine
• Allison 4000EVS transmission
Body
• Aluminum body
• R.O.M. roll-up doors
• Storage for 1,000 feet of 4-inch hose and three crosslays
Pumping Features
• Waterous CSUD 2,000 gpm pump
• 300-gallon UPF tank
• Akron Brass 3578 1,000 gpm Stream Master remote-operated monitor
Aerial Features
• 100-foot steel platform aerial
• Automatic leveling system
• Signal-Stat LED blue rung light system
• 1,000-pound tip load
Other Features
• Harrison 10,000-watt hydraulic generator
• Fire Research Corp. Focus telescoping scene light
• Whelen Engineering warning lights
• Hannay electric reel
• 4,500 psi breathing air system
Price
$756,000