The New Bedford Fire Department accepted delivery of a new 2024 Pierce Enforcer 100-foot tractor drawn aerial, the department said in a Facebook post Saturday, Oct. 5.

The new Ladder 1 will be placed in service within the next few weeks following chassis and aerial training from Pierce and the remainder of the loose equipment and electronic equipment is installed.

The new Ladder 1 replaces the 2008 Pierce Arrow XT located at Station 2. Ladder 1 is the department’s busiest ladder company, having responded to 2,807 calls for service last year. Ladder 1 is the first due ladder company to structure fires in the downtown/west end area and the second due ladder company to all structure fires in the north and south end of the city.

Specifications

By Alan M. Petrillo

Huber Heights Fire Department in Ohio had not had a tractor drawn aerial (TDA or tiller) in its fleet since the 1990s when it transitioned to rear-mount aerial quints. But the development of three-story townhome and apartment complexes on narrow streets with limited parking, setback configurations, and higher elevations made the department take another look at the usefulness of a tiller.

“When I started with the fire department in 1989 we had a 100-foot steel ladder 1956 American LaFrance tiller pulled by a 1981 Pierce Arrow tractor, with no water, open ladder rack storage, and an open tiller cab that had been boxed in,” says Michael Muhl, Huber Heights battalion chief. “Then during the 1990s, we moved to the quint concept on rear-mount aerials.”

In the ensuing years, a considerable number of townhome complexes were built with parking in the middle of the complex and with overflow parking congesting the narrow streets facing the complexes, Muhl says. “At the time we had a 105-foot aerial ladder on tandem rear axles that was difficult to get into those complexes,” he points out. “Plus there were a lot of plans for three story apartment and townhome complexes with elevations and configurations that would make it difficult to get a straight frame aerial in to them. In addition, we couldn’t hit most third floor balconies with our ground ladders.”

Muhl says Huber Heights needed a more maneuverable truck with longer ground ladders. “We have an all Sutphen fleet, so we talked to Sutphen about a tiller quint,” he says, “and we had four bullet points that we would not compromise.” Those stipulations were that the rig had to carry at least 300 gallons of water, a pump, and hose lines; it had to carry a 45-foot extension ladder; it had to have a lot more storage than the department’s existing 246 cubic feet; and 62 feet was to be the maximum overall length of the rig.

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