The unit’s 107-foot aerial ladder features a weight optimized design structure that places weight and mass only where required. The aerial delivers a full 107-foot vertical reach and a 100-foot horizontal reach with a below grade operation of -10 degrees. The ladder’s reach is 32 feet greater than a typical single rear axle aerial. Since its launch, the manufacturer’s research and development team has successfully completed three phases of a fatigue test on the Ascendant that demonstrate the equivalent of 20 years of service life.

The driver of her trailer in the parade was WHS Associate Trustee Lt. Roy Hatch who, with the help of several members of Waldoboro’s Fireman’s Association, loaded the engine on a new horse trailer loaned for the drive by Mike Phillips of On the Road in Warren.

The Homewood Fire Department was able to save money on the truck while also being more specific with its features by buying it through the Houston-Galveston Area Council, a cooperative purchasing program that helps local governments and nonprofits.

The engine is a Pierce Enforcer, Grabowski said. It has a custom-built chassis with a 750-gallon tank and a Detroit Diesel 500-horsepower motor. When a fire hose is hooked up to a hydrant, the truck can pump 1,500 gallons of water per minute.

“The vehicle is a fully (National Fire Protection Association) compliant engine that comes with a full complement of ground ladders and a hose bed that will carry over 1,000 feet of both supply and attack hose,” Grabowski said.

The engines that were on display from the club were actually part of McDonald’s collection, and should be familiar to people who attend Western Days events. It also included the 1998 LaFrance (ALF) fire engine that is on loan to the VC Firefighters Association and which is on display at national holidays and observances. Residents who drove by during Monday’s 9/11 observance saw the same engine with the American flag hanging from its ladder.

The Mercury News has some info on the city of Milpitas (CA) Fire Department's front-line apparatus.

“The repairs on Engine 86 occurred after a component on the vehicle failed in the all-wheel steer portion of the rear axle. Burton’s Fire apparatus repaired the axle and the fire engine is now back in service,” Deputy Fire Chief Richard Frawley said.