The Roosevelt (NY) Fire District was running a 1988 E-ONE 110-foot aerial ladder that it had purchased used in 2004 from the city of Poughkeepsie (NY), but the rig was showing its age and requiring the district to put more money into it in terms of repairs and maintenance. So, the hunt was on for a new aerial device.
Lew Darrow, Roosevelt’s chief, says the district applied for an Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and began researching various aerial ladders being made.
“We liked the 110-foot aerial ladder’s handiness and short-jack spread, along with its side ladder storage setup, so we first thought about buying another aerial ladder,” Darrow says. “When we got the grant, the committee debated whether to buy a ladder or a platform and determined that a platform would be most beneficial for us based on our past fires.”
Dan Nichols, Roosevelt’s truck committee chair and public information officer, says E-ONE’s crisscross jacks and its short jacking system were a big draw for the district. “We have some very narrow roads in our district where if we have a big jack spread, we wouldn’t be able to get a tanker through to the scene,” Nichols points out. “Premier Fire Apparatus brought out a demo E-ONE 100-foot aerial platform that we took around town and spread the jacks to see where we could set up the truck. Also, the extra braking on the tandem rear axles when going up and down hills was noticeable, and the truck has a good cramp angle too.”
Ken Finke, Premier’s president, says Roosevelt, with nine pumpers in its district, decided to keep the aerial platform as a straight truck, with no pump or water tank. “They were looking to maximize the compartment space on the truck while still keeping the wheelbase as short as possible,” Finke says, “so we gave up 10 inches from the front compartment to shorten the wheelbase and make it easier to get the truck around in their district.”
DEPARTMENT
Roosevelt (NY) Fire District
Strength: 143 volunteer firefighters, five stations.
Service area: Roosevelt Fire District provides fire suppression, emergency medical services, and rescue services to approximately 3,000 residents of the town of Hyde Park in Dutchess County (NY). Located halfway between Albany and New York City on the east side of the Hudson River, the district protects approximately 43 square miles, consisting mostly of residential homes and small businesses, as well as the Culinary Institute of America and the Victory Lake Nursing Home.
Other apparatus: Nine E-ONE pumpers, 1,500-gpm pumps, 1,250-gallon water tanks; two heavy rescue trucks; two Type 6 brush trucks; one E-ONE air/light truck on Ford chassis; one ambulance; one medic car; three SUV command vehicles; one utility pickup truck; one Boston Whaler marine unit.
Larry Daniels, E-ONE’s director of sales, says Roosevelt’s aerial platform is built on a new 100-inch-wide Cyclone chassis and cab that has modified steps. “They had us drop the cab door entry step four inches, which eliminates the third step on the rig,” Daniels says. “The cab is set up to carry six firefighters, with five of them in 911 Seats self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) seats.”
The wheelbase on the truck is 250 inches, the overall length is 46 feet 1 inch, and the overall height is 11 feet 1 inch. It has a Dana 22,800-pound front axle and a 54,000-pound Meritor RT-50-160 rear tandem axle and is powered by a 500-horsepower (hp) Cummins X12 diesel engine and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission with a Jacobs engine compression brake.
1 E-ONE built a 100-foot aerial platform on a Cyclone chassis with a 100-inch-wide cab for the Roosevelt (NY) Fire District. (Photos courtesy of Roosevelt Fire District.)
2 The Roosevelt aerial platform carries 280 feet of ground ladders in an enclosed compartment accessed from the rear of the truck and in a side stacker area on the driver’s side of the truck.
3 The platform is fitted with a parapet ladder fitting along with a Task Force Tips 1,250-gpm Monsoon electric monitor.
4 The E-ONE aerial platform is powered by a Cummins 500-hp X12 diesel engine and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission.
Nichols notes that the aerial platform has 280 feet of ground ladders housed in an interior ladder compartment along the side of the aerial. The side stack ladders are a 35-foot three-section extension, 20-foot two-section extension, 16-foot roof, and 17-foot Little Giant. The rest of the ladders in the compartment accessed from the rear are two 35-foot two-section extensions, a 28-foot two-section extension, a 24-foot two-section extension, a 20-foot roof, a 14-foot roof, and two 10-foot folding ladders.
SPECS
E-ONE 100-Foot Aerial Platform
- Cyclone chassis and 100-inch-wide cab
- Seating for six firefighters, five in 911 Seats SCBA seats
- Cummins 500-hp X12 diesel engine
- Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission
- 100-foot extruded welded aluminum aerial ladder with 2.5 to 1 safety factor
- Platform with Task Force Tips 1,250-gpm Monsoon electric monitor
- 280 feet of ground ladders
- 10-kW SmartPower hydraulic generator
- Two electric cord reels
- HiViz Fire Tech LED scene lighting
- RotoRay LED light on front
- Lighted LED sign plate on side of aerial
- Three Safety Vision cameras (one each side, one at rear)
5 The Roosevelt aerial platform has four underslung crisscross jacks with vertical stab jacks at their outboard edge to allow the operator to short jack the truck.
6 The E-ONE 100-foot aerial ladder is extruded welded aluminum that has a 2.5 to 1 safety factor.
Daniels points out that Roosevelt’s platform has a parapet ladder fixture, a Task Force Tips 1,250-gallon per minute (gpm) electric Monsoon monitor, a 2½-inch valve on the front of the bucket next to the monitor, a hose box on the right side of the platform, and a smaller box on the other side for an SCBA mask or communications equipment. “The 100-foot aerial ladder is all extruded welded aluminum,” Daniels says, “and has a 2.5 to 1 safety factor. The aerial has Innomotive Solutions Group Luma Bar Pathfinder LED green strip lighting up both sides.”
The aerial platform’s jack spread is 15 feet 6 inches, Daniels notes, with four underslung crisscross jacks integral with the torque box. “The crisscross jacks have vertical stab jacks at their outboard edge that give the operator the ability to short jack the truck and give more ground penetration to level the truck on unforgiving terrain,” he says. Daniels adds that Roosevelt also purchased a single rear axle walk-in heavy rescue truck with a stainless-steel body from E-ONE at the same time as the aerial platform.
The platform carries a 10-kW SmartPower hydraulic generator, two electric cord reels, a Roto-Ray LED light on the front of the truck, HiViz FireTech LED scene lighting around the truck, and three Safety Vision cameras—one on each side and one at the rear.
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.
