Published: May 16, 2008 10:36 pm            

NORTH TONAWANDA: New NT fire truck rolls into town

A million dollars might not go as far as it used to, but it’ll still get you 100 feet in the air.

Close to $1 million is about what the North Tonawanda Fire Department paid for it’s new diesel-powered aerial ladder truck, in a process begun by the late Chief Greg Frank and decided last July.

Chief Joseph Krantz said members of the department are still training on the new machine, which features two nozzles on a hydraulic platform that can be extended to drown fires from above, as well as allow firefighters to pump water into upper-floor windows.

Each of the nozzles can move about 750 gallons of water per minute from the truck to the flames.

The ladder is constructed of aircraft-style aluminum alloy, which according to the manufacturer, will bow under stress but bounce back like an aircraft wing, and is heat resilient.

Firefighters call the truck a “quint” because it provides five types of service.

In addition to the advantage the ladder platform offers, the truck carries 500 gallons of water, additional ladders and preconnected couplings for three hand-operated hoselines. It can transport five riders to and from the scene of a fire.

The decision to buy the truck was made last July, with Mayor Larry Soos at first skeptical about the cost of the custom built apparatus.

“After all was said and done I’m glad I buckled under and went with the truck,” he said.

The department’s old truck has been in service since 1981 and also featured a 100-foot ladder, but with no platform for firefighters to stand on.

On the subject of the new engine’s multiple uses, Krantz said it’s one way of upgrading the old aerial equipment, and focusing features in one unit.

“We’re now a smaller department,” he said. “We’re doing more work with fewer people. I think this is the only truck we’ve ever had that has a pump and an aerial platform.”

Joe Fiala, fire department mechanic, said the old truck, which will now be used for back up, was top of the line when it went into service, but now has it’s share of mechanical problems.

“You’re 100 feet in the air and safety has got to be the No. 1 priority for the firemen in the air and the residents who you’re trying to help,” he said.

He was pleased that a project initiated by Frank, who died last month after a battle with cancer, has come around.

“Chief Frank originally started the committee that started this truck deal. This is a project that I’m glad we could complete in his memory.”

The fire district has one high-rise structure for which the new truck would be a major asset, the Carousel Park Apartments, according to Krantz.

A representative from the manufacturer, Sutphen, based in Columbus, Ohio, helped members of the department navigate the new equipment Wednesday at the Niagara County Fire Training Center on Tonawanda Island. It should be in service in about a month.

The family-owned company has been in business for 118 years.

Contact reporter Neale Gulleyat 693-1000, ext. 114.

        

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