The Bedford Fire Department protects a 33-square-mile district with a population of 23,322 that’s a fast-growing rural/suburban/commercial area that is adding many multistory structures to a very diverse community. These developments mean the department needed to replace its 106-foot straight stick aerial with a new aerial of at least 100 feet.
Mike Davenport, lieutenant at Bedford Fire, notes the area has a growing number of four- and five-story apartment buildings, as well as seven nursing homes, several surgical centers, and urgent care facilities. “We are a very EMS (emergency medical services) heavy department with large manufacturing and business districts and propane storage facilities,” Davenport says. “We sit on the border of the Manchester Airport, protect a section of the Merrimack River with swiftwater rescue and technical rescue teams, and have Routes 293 and 101 running through the district.”
Davenport points out that new construction in the town must have a parapet to hide any rooftop mechanical systems from view. “We have a lot of structures in town with parapets, so we found that a Rosenbauer King Cobra aerial platform was the best and safest option for us instead of a traditional platform where we would have to lash a roof ladder to the side of the bucket to access the roof over a parapet,” he says.
1 Rosenbauer built this King Cobra articulating platform quint on a Commander chassis with a cab set up to carry four firefighters for the Bedford (NH) Fire Department. (Photo 1 courtesy of Rosenbauer.)
2 The quint has a Waterous CSUC20 1,750-gpm pump, a 400-gallon water tank, a 30-gallon foam cell, and an Akron Brass StreamMaster II with AVM monitor on the platform. (Photos 2-3 courtesy of Specialty Vehicles Inc.)
3 Bedford chose the King Cobra because of its 8-foot articulating jib that allows access over a parapet to the roof of a structure.
Greg Genovese, Rosenbauer’s East Coast regional sales manager, says the King Cobra rear-mount articulating platform built for Bedford is on a Rosenbauer Commander chassis with a 65-inch cab set up to carry four firefighters, three in self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) seats, with a large EMS cabinet on the back wall and a Rosenbauer CleanAir recirculation air scrubber.
The King Cobra is powered by a 600-horsepower (hp) Cummins X15 engine and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission and has a 24,000-pound Hendrickson parabolic spring front suspension and a 60,000-pound Hendrickson ULTIMAXX UMX rear suspension. Wheelbase on the truck is 250 inches, overall length is 47 feet 7 inches, and overall height is 12 feet.
Genovese says the 101-foot three-section aerial is hot dip galvanized, as is its eight-foot articulating jib. “The torque box and outriggers also are hot dip galvanized,” he points out, “as is the painted platform basket. The aerial has Rosenbauer’s SMART aerial technology that allows for short jacking capability, auto bedding, and SMART screens at the platform and turntable and through a wireless unit.
Joe Bevilacqua, fire apparatus sales representative for Specialty Vehicles Inc., who sold the King Cobra to Bedford, says Rosenbauer’s aerials have a unique short-jacking capability. “Our aerials can operate in four different quadrants, with the SMART screen giving the operator a visual representation of where the truck’s aerial can and can’t go,” Bevilacqua says. “The King Cobra’s maximum outrigger spread is 17 feet 6 inches, and a department can operate the aerial 360 degrees around the truck with four outriggers deployed at 25% extension. That allows the department to set up in a tight driveway or narrow road and operate the truck 360 degrees with no restriction on water flow, vertical reach, or tip load. The only thing you lose is horizontal reach.”
4 Bedford’s quint operates at the scene of a structure fire. (Photos 4-5 courtesy of Jeffrey Hastings, Bedford Fire Department.)
5 The King Cobra uses its horizontal reach to access the second-floor window of a set-back structure.
specs
Rosenbauer King Cobra Articulating Aerial Platform
- Rosenbauer Commander chassis and EXT body
- 101-foot hot dip galvanized three-section aerial
- 8-foot hot dip galvanized articulating jib
- SMART aerial technology
- 600-hp Cummins X15 engine
- Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission
- Waterous CSUC20 1,750-gpm pump
- 400-gallon water tank
- 30-gallon foam cell
- Elkhart Brass eductor foam system
- Akron Brass StreamMaster II with AVM monitor
- Rosenbauer EZ-Load hosebed
Department
Bedford (NH) Fire Department
Strength: 40 paid full-time firefighter/paramedics and advanced emergency technicians; one station.
Service area: The Bedford Fire Department covers a 33-square-mile rural and suburban district with a fast growing commercial area and a population of 23,322.
Other apparatus: 2014 HME rescue-pumper, 1,500-gpm pump, 750-gallon water tank; 2003 E-ONE pumper, 1,750-gpm pump, 1,200-gallon water tank; 2015 International 7600 pumper-tanker, 1,500-gpm pump, 2,500-gallon water tank; 1992 E-ONE pumper-tanker, 1,500-gpm pump, 2,500-gallon water tank; 2022 Ford F-550 mini pumper, 1,250-gpm pump, 300-gallon water tank; 2010 Ford F-350 forestry pumper, 180-gpm pump, 220-gallon water tank; 2020 Ford F-550 advanced life support (ALS) ambulance; 2015 Ford F-550 Greenwood ALS ambulance; 2014 Horton International Terra Star ALS ambulance; two Zodiac rigid-hull inflatable boats.
Davenport says his department “fell in love with the King Cobra platform. It’s unmatched with its short-jacking capabilities and still has 360-degree operation, and it allows us to work below grade as well. It can reach over water or guardrails to get up to 20 feet below grade, which makes it safer for both firefighters and the public. And, with the aerial bedded, we can drop the bucket down to the ground level and load the platform with equipment and personnel.”
Bevilacqua says the King Cobra carries a 1,750-gallon-per-minute (gpm) Waterous CSUC20 pump, a 400-gallon water tank, a 30-gallon foam cell, and an Elkhart Brass eductor foam system, with an automatic Trident air primer. He adds that the rig has three speedlays, two with preconnected 1¾-inch hose, and one 1¾-inch dead lay. “There are two 2½-inch discharges on the left pump panel, a 2½-inch and a 4-inch discharge on the right side, and an 1¾-inch hoseline in the extended front bumper,” he points out.
“On the back of the truck is a 4-inch inlet that has an electric butterfly valve that allows it to be operated as a discharge as well,” Bevilacqua says, “and an EZ-Load hydraulic hosebed that drops down on the curb side of the body to about hip height. This is the first King Cobra that we’ve put the EZ-Load on, and it holds 1,000 feet of 5-inch large-diameter hose.” He adds that the platform carries an Akron Brass StreamMaster II with aerial valve manifold (AVM) monitor.
Davenport says that the King Cobra has responded to several structure fires in Bedford as well as in neighboring Manchester. “We couldn’t be happier with the performance of the vehicle,” he says.
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.
