Donna, Texas is a growing city, nine miles north of the international border with Mexico, expanding with a large commercial district and increased residential housing. Because of the city’s growth, Donna Fire Department decided to add an aerial ladder quint to its fleet of two Ferrara Fire Apparatus pumpers and one Ferrara pumper-tanker.
David Simmons, Donna’s chief, says his department’s coverage area includes 10 square miles of the city of Donna, as well as an adjacent rural area of 90 square miles. “We have 35 paid firefighters and two volunteers who handle fire suppression, rescue, and first response medical calls,” Simmons points out. “We operate out of one five-bay station located in the city, which is a mix of commercial, residential and agriculture, with hydrants in the city and its subdivisions.”
Simmons notes, “The town keeps growing, especially with large shopping areas and warehouses. We have a Super Walmart, a large strip mall with Ross for Less, PetSmart, Burlington, and restaurants, and a Sam’s Club is in the process of being built. With all that commercial activity, we knew we needed a new aerial ladder.”
Jerry Haack, salesman for SAFE Industries, who sold the Ferrara 77-foot rear-mount aerial ladder quint to Donna Fire, says the rig is built on a Ferrara Cinder chassis. The XMFD cab has an eight-inch raised roof and seating for six firefighters, three of them in self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) seats, powered by a 450-horsepower (hp) Cummins L9 diesel engine, and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission.
Haack notes the quint has a three-section heavy duty aerial ladder with a 500-pound tip load when flowing 1,500-gallons-per-minute (GPM); an Akron 3480 storefront monitor with an Akron valve under monitor (VUM) at the tip of the ladder; a Hale Qmax 1,750-gpm pump, and a 500-gallon polypropylene water tank.
Simmons points out that the quint has 150 feet of 1-inch redline hose on a reel in a well in the extended front bumper, 300-foot and 200-foot 1-3/4-inch hose crosslays above the midship pump panel, and 400 feet of 2-1/2-inch hose preconnected at the rear of the truck. The quint’s hosebed carries 900 feet of 6-inch large diameter hose (LDH), and there’s a 4-inch inlet at the rear, he adds. “We can attack a fire from any direction with this truck,” Simmons observes.
The ground ladder complement in a rear slide-in compartment on the quint includes an Alco-Lite 24-foot two-section extension ladder and a 16-foot roof ladder, a Duo-Safety 14-foot combination ladder and a 10-foot folding attic ladder, as well as a 12-foot fiberglass pike pole, and 8-foot and 6-foot New York roof hooks. An Alco-Lite 16-foot roof ladder is secured on the base of the aerial ladder.
Lighting on the Ferrara quint includes two Whelen LED F4N mini lightbars, four FRC SoBrite LED lights, Whelen LED emergency lights, HiViz FireTech LED headlights, and HiViz FireTech LED scene lights.
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.
