Palm Beach Gardens (FL) Fire Rescue recently received a Seagrave Fire Apparatus Capitol 100-foot aerial ladder quint that will replace an older 75-foot aerial ladder quint, which will be place in reserve status.
Myles Held, Palm Beach Gardens division chief, says that one of the driving elements of changing from a 75-foot ladder to a 100-footer was the setback on various buildings in the municipality. “With the growing number of buildings, both residential and commercial, that have pretty long setbacks, we wanted the versatility of a 100-foot aerial ladder,” Held points out. “We also wanted a rig that gave us a faster setup in getting the ladder in position, and better maneuverability than our prior aerial ladder. We checked with Fire Department of New York (FDNY) on their experience with Seagrave’s aerial ladders, and decided to go with a Seagrave 100-foot aerial ladder quint.”
Seagrave built the rig on a Capital chassis and cab with seating for five firefighters in H.O. Bostrom seats, powered by a 500-horsepower (hp) Cummins X12 diesel engine and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission. The truck has a 242-inch wheelbase, and an overall length of 40 feet 8 inches, and carryies a Waterous CSU 1,750-gallon per minute (gpm) pump, a UPF Poly® 500-gallon water tank, a 30-gallon foam cell, and a FoamPro 1600 foam proportioning system.
Held notes that the new Seagrave has a 24-inch steel extended front bumper with a hose well for 200 feet of 1-3/4-inch hose, two 200-foot 1-3/4-inch hose cross lays, a cross lay of 200 feet of 2-1/2-inch hose dead lay, and a Hannay electric booster reel with 100-feet of one-inch hose above the pump house. The hose bed carries 500 feet of 5-inch LDH (large diameter hose) and 200 feet of 2-1/2-inch hose connected to a gated wye with 200 feet of 1-3/4-inch hose preconnected. The aerial ladder has a Task Force Tips Typhoon monitor with quad stacked tips and a Stream-Shaper nozzle at the business end of the ladder.
Duo-Safety ground ladders on the quint include a 35-foot two-section extension ladder, a 24-foot two-section extension ladders, a 16-foot roof ladder, a 10-foot folding attic ladder, and a 15-foot combination ladder, all in an enclosed ladder tunnel, along with pike poles and fire hooks.
Lighting on the Seagrave aerial ladder quint includes a Whelen LED warning light package, FRC Spectra LED scene lighting, two Spectra Max LED telescoping scene lights, Hi Viz 12-volt LED head lights, two Whelen LED light bars, a Whelen LED 36-inch LED traffic advisor, two Whelen Rota-Beam red LED beacons at the rear, and two FRC Spectra LED 12-volt floodlights at the tip of the ladder.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Ariz.-based journalist, the author of three novels and five non-fiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment editorial advisory board. He served 22 years with Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including the position of chief.
