Booms on engines, rescues, and the articulating type on trucks continue to have a cadre of supporters among fire departments around the country for a number of reasons. Among the reasons are for use in particular geographic areas of a fire district, in tight quarters as an elevated waterway, to lift heavy equipment off the top of a rig, and as a tactical preference for a department.
Brandon Whittaker, aerial sales manager for Rosenbauer, says his company makes articulating booms that are affixed to three different types of fire rigs—aerials, pumpers, and aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) trucks. Whittaker says for the Bartow County (GA) Fire Department, Rosenbauer built a T-Rex 115-foot vertical reach and 93-foot horizontal reach platform that pivots 48 degrees in each direction at the end of an 18-foot jib boom. He notes the rig has an 18-foot fully deployed jack spread that can be short jacked, 8,000-pound lifting capacity on the base boom, and 4,400-pound lifting capacity on the fly boom.
For the Forest City (NC) Fire Department, Rosenbauer built a 101-foot King Cobra aerial platform with an 8-foot jib boom that has a 500-pound wet load rating and 1,000-pound dry load that is useful in going up and over parapets and onto a rooftop for rescue or ventilation.
“The jib boom allows an operator to take the platform to negative 20 degrees below grade,” he points out. Whittaker says the rig has a 50-mile-per-hour wind rating and a quarter-inch ice rating, SMART Aerial Controls, and four H-style jacks with a fully deployed jack spread of 17 feet 6 inches.
1 This 115-foot T-Rex aerial that Rosenbauer built for the Bartow County (GA) Fire Department has an 18-foot jib boom tipped by a platform. (Photos 1-4 courtesy of Rosenbauer.)
2 Rosenbauer’s King Cobra aerial platform built for the Forest City (NC) Fire Department has an 8-foot jib boom and platform that’s useful for going over parapets or below grade.
3 Rosenbauer built this Articulating Cobra Platform on a pumper for the Wyndmoor (PA) Fire Department.
4 The business end of an HRET that Rosenbauer built for a Perry (GA) Fire Department pumper.
5 Pierce Manufacturing Inc. built this 65-foot Sky-Boom articulating boom on a pumper for the Linden (NJ) Fire Department. (Photos 5-6 courtesy of Pierce Manufacturing Inc.)
6 This Snozzle articulating two-section telescopic boom and ladder with a 1,250-gpm monitor at the tip built by Pierce Manufacturing went to the Delavan (WI) Fire Department.
“We also built 55-foot Articulating Cobra Platforms for a Chicago (IL) Fire Department pumper and also a Wyndmoor (PA) Fire Department pumper that have four A-style jacks with an 11-foot 9-inch jack spread and tip loads of 500 pounds wet and 750 pounds dry,” Whittaker says. Rosenbauer also makes an articulating boom for its ARFF trucks, and those booms also have been placed on industrial and municipal pumpers, he explains. “The High Reach Extendable Turret (HRET) is available in 55-foot and 68-foot lengths, with a STINGER penetrating nozzle that is useful not only on aircraft but also on rooftops and silos,” he adds.
Jenny Bloemer, senior business development manager of aerial products for Pierce Manufacturing Inc., says Pierce makes the Sky-Boom and Snozzle articulating boom products. “The Snozzle is available in 50-foot and 65-foot lengths, is a midship mount on a pumper, and has one set of A-frame stabilizers at the truck’s center point,” Bloemer says. “Both versions have piercing capabilities, which can be used on car and dumpster fires, in basement windows, or in any tight spaces where you need something small and maneuverable.” She notes the 50-footer has a 1,000-gallon-per-minute (gpm) monitor at the tip, while the 65-footer carries a 1,500-gpm monitor.
Robert Schulz II, Pierce’s general manager of aerial and fleet products, adds that the Sky-Boom is a two-section telescopic boom with a ladder bolted to the two boom sections. “It’s essentially an elevated water stream with a rescue capability because of the ladder, which has an Akron TuckAway 1,250-gpm monitor at the tip,” Schulz says. “It’s a nonarticulating, rear-mount device that’s available in 55-foot and 61-foot models, controlled by a small pedestal at the rear, with one set of A-frame stabilizers at the rear with a 12-foot 10-inch jack spread.”
7 SVI Trucks built a heavy rescue truck with an Ideal Liberator hydraulic telescopic crane for the New Rochelle (NY) Fire Department. (Photos 7-9 courtesy of SVI Trucks.)
8 The Inter-Canyon (CO) Fire Rescue had SVI build a four-wheel-drive heavy rescue with a Liberator low-profile electro-hydraulic crane with a 2,000-pound capacity for steep terrain and mountain rescue.
9 The Fairbanks (AK) Fire Department had SVI build a heavy rescue with a Liberator crane on the upper body to handle the department’s 14-foot inflatable boat.
Amy Speer, SVI Trucks marketing director, says SVI has built a wide variety of fire vehicles with booms or cranes mounted on them. Speer notes SVI built two walk-in heavy rescues for the Honolulu (HI) Fire Department with 1,000-pound lifting capacity cranes built into the forward walkway area to handle the department’s water rescue equipment. SVI also built a hazardous materials vehicle for the Vaughan (ON) Fire and Rescue Service with a Western Mule telescoping boom crane with a 1,000-pound capacity mounted in the upper walkway of the apparatus. For the New Rochelle (NY) Fire Department, SVI built a heavy rescue truck with an Ideal Liberator hydraulic telescopic crane used to raise and lower a 180-pound Avon inflatable rescue boat, 100-pound motor, and 65-pound SEITech Solutions boat dolly stored on top of the apparatus.
The Fairbanks (AK) Fire Department had SVI build a heavy rescue with a Liberator crane on its upper body to lower a 14-foot INMAR 430-MIL inflatable boat with a military hull. The crane is rated for 3,200 pounds and features a retracted overall length of 8 feet 8 inches. For the Inter-Canyon (CO) Fire Protection District, SVI built a four-wheel-drive heavy rescue with a Liberator low-profile electro-hydraulic crane with a 2,000-pound capacity for steep terrain and mountain rescue, Speer says. “The crane lifts rope systems into the anchoring locations built into the top of the truck, which lifts the rope system above the roadbed and out of the work area,” she notes.
10 The Charlotte (MI) Fire Department had Spencer Manufacturing build a pumper with a 68-foot Rosenbauer HRET boom on it with a Task Force Tips 1,000-gpm monitor at the end. (Photo 10 courtesy of Charlotte Fire Department.)
11 Sutphen Corp. built this rescue truck with a PALFINGER crane on the rear for Ekpack, China. (Photo 11 courtesy of Sutphen Corp.)
Tyger Fullerton, assistant chief at the Charlotte (MI) Fire Department, says his department has used articulating booms and elevated waterways since the late 1970s. “In 1977, we had a 75-foot Snorkle articulating boom on a pumper and in 1988 got a 1988 Spartan with a 50-foot TeleSqurt,” Fullerton says. “In 2013, we had Spencer Manufacturing build us a pumper with a 68-foot Rosenbauer HRET boom on it, with a Task Force Tips 1,000-gpm monitor and a 2,000-gallon water tank.” Late in 2018, Charlotte went back to Spencer and had it build a pumper on a Spartan chassis with a 1,500-gpm single-stage Waterous pump, 2,000-gallon water tank, 50-foot TeleSqurt, and TFT 1,000-gpm monitor with an Extend-A-Gun, Fullerton says.
Drew Sutphen, president of Sutphen Corp., says that Sutphen has built a pumper with a 65-foot Snozzle articulating elevated waterway on it for the Columbia (MO) Fire Department, a pumper with a 61-foot elevated waterway for the Boardman (OH) Fire Department, and a series of six elevated water stream devices on pumpers that can also lift loaded rigid-hull inflatable boats onto rivers or flooded areas. Sutphen also has built cranes on pumpers—one recently went to the Loveland (OH) Fire Department—and a PALFINGER crane on a rescue truck for EKPAC, a technology aggregating business in China to be put in service with the Anyang (China) Fire Brigade.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
