Photos and Description by Lindsay Dye
Truck 12 went into service with the Irving (TX) Fire Department on August 10, 2017, when Station 12 opened. This unit and an identical unit at Station 3 are the first tractor-drawn aerials in the history of the department. Irving joins Dallas as the only cities in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area to use tillers in their fleets.
The cab and chassis are the Arrow XT model with seating for five. A Coleman Mach 3 (13,500 Btu) mounted on the cab roof provides auxiliary cooling for the cab, and a Danhard A/C unit provides cooling for the tiller cab. The apparatus cab and trailer body are constructed of aluminum, with full depth compartments featuring both hinged doors and AMDOR roll-up doors. SCBA storage is in a right-side trailer compartment. A Stokes box constructed of aluminum tread plate is mounted on top of the trailer under the ladder cradle.
Power is provided by a Detroit DD-13 525-hp engine and an Allison Fifth Generation Model EVS 4500P six-speed transmission with pushbutton controls. The TAK-4 independent front suspension system is featured as is the Pierce Command Zone advanced electronic and control system. A Harrison Model 10.0 MPC-16 10-kW generator is located above the goose neck of the trailer.
The aerial is Pierce’s heavy-duty 100-foot model constructed of high-strength, low-alloy steel. Four FRC SRA 110 lights are mounted on the aerial (two on each side of the tip and two on each side of the base section). Aerial rung lighting is provided by TechNiq Model D02 LED lighting and is installed on both sides of the ladder (green lighting along both sides with red on the last three rungs). The pinnable waterway is constructed of anodized aluminum and provides 1,000 gpm to an Akron StreamMaster Model 3480 monitor and an Akron Model 5177 nozzle. Duo-Safety ground ladders (one 35-foot two-section extension, two 24-foot two-section extension, one 16-foot roof, one 12-foot roof, one 14-foot Fresno, and one 10-foot folding) are stored in the torque box. A Little Giant Model 17 folding ladder is stored in a trailer compartment.
Warning lights include a Whelen Freedom IV-D LED Lightbar (72-inch) and Whelen M6 and Whelen WIONSMC LED lights on the apparatus perimeter. The rear of the truck features Whelen L31 HRFN LED beacons on the corners with two Whelen M4 lights at the top of the tiller cab. Scene lighting includes four Whelen PELCC LED lights located at the front and rear of the rear axle and two Weldon Model 3010 lights mounted on the rear of the tractor cab. Additional scene lighting includes three FRC Model SPA260-Q20 units mounted adjacent to the crew doors (one per side) and one mounted below the tiller cab rear window, four (two per side with top-mount pedestals) FRC Model SPA570-Q28 lights on the trailer body, and an FRC Model Spectra Max SPA100-Q28 center-mounted on the front brow.
Audio warning devices include a Federal Q2B siren partially recessed through the front grille and a Whelen Model 295SLSA1 electron