By Bob Vaccaro
The West Sayville Fire Department has been a mainstay in the community since 1892. A volunteer fire department with 115 members, the department covers the communities of West Sayville and Oakdale with two stations covering 5.9 square miles with a population of 10,955 residents.
The department has been a Pierce customer since 1994 when it bought a 1994 Pierce Dash pumper followed by a 2004 Lance pumper, 2010 Velocity pumper, and a 2019 Enforcer Rescue.
According to Assistant Chief Patrick D’Onofrio, the department’s equipment chief at the time, ”Our ALF/LTI aerial was over 20 years old and because of ALF now being out of business, it was getting harder and harder to get parts when the vehicle went out of service. This was starting to increase on a regular basis and we decided it was time to replace the aging apparatus.”
The department formed a truck committee consisting of board of fire commissioners, the assistant chief, the captain of the truck company, and a few others.
“We didn’t want to make the committee too large, yet valued all of the members’ opinions,” D’Onofrio said. “The committee had to move fast with the stipulation that it had to move fast in order to order a new aerial platform and to beat the rising costs for apparatus that was beginning to plague the apparatus industry. The committee met weekly in the beginning to gain ideas and work on the specs for the new apparatus. We looked at other manufacturers that had delivered vehicles in the local area. Also looked at our neighboring department Patchogue that had just purchased an Ascendant platform and we gained some insight and ideas from them.
“For our purchase we went through the HGAC program, so we didn’t have to go to bid. This made ordering much easier for us and we could choose Pierce and standardize our fleet. Pierce also gave us what we wanted as far as our specs were concerned.
“We were used to dealing with Firematic and their service was second to none. They were also local for us, so it was a no-brainer to go with them again for this new apparatus.
“We chose the Pierce Ascendant midmount because of ease of operation. The shorter wheelbase makes it more maneuverable in some of our tight streets. It also has a fast set up time and is self-leveling.
“The vehicle was also designed with more compartment space and also has room for the future, should we decide to add additional equipment. Also spec’d was a new lighting package with all LED scene lighting, lighting in the bucket, and advance safety features which we didn’t have in our older ladder.”
The West Sayville Fire Department really planned well for the purchase of their new Pierce Ascendant midmount platform.
Pierce and Firematic were both receptive to all of the committee’s ideas and concerns. As a result, they designed a vehicle that will perform well for the department and community well into the future.
BOB VACCARO has more than 40 years of fire service experience. He is a former chief of the Deer Park (NY) Fire Department. Vaccaro has also worked for the Insurance Services Office, the New York Fire Patrol, and several major commercial insurance companies as a senior loss-control consultant. He is a life member of the IAFC.
