Nederland (TX) Fire Rescue recently held a push-in ceremony for its $1.5 million Tower 11, a Pierce-Custom Velocity Aerial.

The ladder replaces the department’s 34-year-old apparatus, a 1987 Pierce Arrow with a 75-foot ladder. Tower 11’s ladder reaches 100 feet, and it has a 2,000-gpm pump with a 300-gallon tank.

By Bill Adkins

Anyone living in or around Goshen Township (Clermont County, OH) can tell you there is a tremendous amount of pride in the fire department. When it comes to their apparatus, high expectations in the ability to perform is top priority. Arriving on scene of any fire in the northeastern suburbs of Cincinnati, one can spot a Goshen Township fire truck from a mile away. Why, you may ask? Because all of Goshen Township’s apparatus are painted in, what they call, Goshen green.

In 1976, Goshen Township firefighters did a study to see which color was more visible. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of yellow/green. Since that study, all Goshen trucks are now Goshen green. For years the apparatus was white over green; however, recently the department voted to switch to black over green.

In 2014, Goshen Township Fire Chief Steve Pegram put together a truck committee to decide what the department wanted for its new apparatus. Goshen Township Fire Department covers 34.2 square miles of both hydrated and non-hydrated areas, and with more than 18,000 residents they wanted an apparatus to handle the demand of rural and suburban firefighting.

In 2019, another committee concluded that the 2015 E-ONE Typhoon exceeded their expectations and decided to order another E-ONE. This article will spotlight both of those apparatus.