The Santee (SC) Fire District now has a 2021 Toyne fire engine and 1997 Pierce 100-foot platform ladder truck—The Gator and Big Bird, respectively—in its apparatus arsenal, reports thetandd.com.

The purchase of the $396,000 Gator was made possible through grants, with a 5% match by the department, officials said. The upgraded Big Bird was $200,000, which was paid for by trading in one of the department’s older trucks. Both apparatuses are equipped with 1,000-foot, five-inch hoses.

The Gator is equipped with a 1,000-gallon tank and can pump 2,250 gallons of water per minute. Its engine has a 20-foot light tower complete with LED lights and a generator. Big Bird can pump 2,000 gallons of water per minute.

South Haven Area (MI) Emergency Services (SHAES) recently received Rescue One, a new heavy-duty rescue truck with cartoon character Yosemite Sam as its design, reports wwmt.com.

The Yosemite Sam tradition dates back to the department’s creation, officials said. The department secured permission from Warner Brothers to display Yosemite Sam for non-commercial purposes.

The Evansville (IN) Fire Department plans to dedicate its new aerial today at 3:30 p.m. at the Ford Center in the memory of 20-year veteran James S. Pfender, reports 14news.com.

Pfender, a captain at Station 9, died in June 2020 at age 48.

The apparatus—a 2021 Pierce with a 105-foot aerial ladder that was built in Appleton, WI—cost approximately $986,000.

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By Mike Ciampo

The Tallman Volunteer Fire Department is located in Rockland County, NY, a suburb of New York City. The fire district is situated in the Town of Ramapo and the firehouse is located on Route 59 in Tallman, a hamlet of Ramapo. The department serves the following communities: Airmont, Montebello, Portions of Monsey, Suffern, and Wesley Hills. The department covers a wide array of structures, from residential homes, shopping plazas, condominiums, townhomes, hotels, and light industrial buildings. They also respond to numerous auto fires and extrications on the heavily traveled New York State Thruway (I-87). The department was founded in 1909 and one of their first orders of business was to figure out how to sound the alarm. Luckily, a local church agreed to let the department use their bell to signal firefighters to respond to a fire call.

Years have passed and the Tallman Fire Department has grown significantly, much like the area it protects. Seeing the need to update their equipment, a truck committee was formed to purchase a new aerial tower. The members agreed on the purchase of a Pierce Ascendant 100-foot, heavy-duty aerial tower. The rig has an Arrow XT tilt cab with seating for six firefighters and chassis with an overall height of 10 feet, 11 inches. It is painted in a white-over-red paint scheme and the aerial ladder is red. White reflective striping runs along the lower portion of the cab and then runs diagonally up the side of one compartment to a horizontal position toward the rear. It is powered by a Cummins X15 600 hp engine and has an Allison 4500 EVS transmission. The front suspension is an independent TAK-4 system, while the rear is an air ride system. The truck is also equipped with a 2,000 gpm Waterous mid-ship single-stage pump and 300-gallon water tank. It also has an aluminum body with Amdor roll-up compartment doors and hinged door compartments over the wheel wells for SCBA and fire extinguisher storage. Heated Lang Mekra mirrors adorn the sides of the cab assisting the chauffeur during periods of inclement weather. Two Grover air horns are recessed in the bumper and there’s a Federal Q2B siren as audible warning devices. 

The rig also boasts a Command Zone electrical system, and it has a Kussmaul shore line power with auto-eject feature. The truck is equipped with a Whelen lighting package, with Freedom IV light bars and traffic directing light in the rear. A Fire Research 3-way intercom system allows communication from the aerial’s bucket to the pump panel or pedestal position. To assist the chauffeur to position the outriggers, stabilizer placement cameras are located on each side of the apparatus and a rear back-up camera assists with backing-up operations. Rung lighting also helps light up the aerial ladder to enhance climbing operations. The aerial tower’s bucket is equipped with two electrically controlled Elkhart Brass Boa 2000 water cannons; one has a fog nozzle and the other has a straight tip.