Apparatus ideas Bob Vaccaro
The Elmont (NY) Fire Department is one of the busiest and largest fire departments on Long Island, Nassau County. It operates with four engines, two trucks, a heavy rescue, a special operations rescue, and EMS and several utility vehicles.
Its response district covers 3.4 square miles with a population of 35,000. While its response area is relatively small, the fire district borders the Borough of Queens in New York City and has numerous shopping centers, schools, and two target hazards: the Belmont Park race track, which hosts the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown; and UBS Arena, home to the New York Islanders NHL hockey team. It also has two major parkways in its district.
When it comes to apparatus purchases, it is proactive in replacing existing apparatus when needed as far as age, maintenance issues, and the cost involved, according to Captain Vincent Balletta, chairman of the truck replacement committee.
“Our company operated a tiller for a great many years and, back in 2017, we had the existing truck refurbed,” Balletta says, noting the department was having trouble with staffing like so many other volunteer fire departments across the country and could no longer find younger members and people to operate the tiller. “They were not really familiar with its operation and were a little intimidated because of the size.”
So, a decision was made to retire the tiller, and it was sold to the Albany (NY) Fire Department in 2019. A committee was formed to find its replacement to meet Elmont’s true needs.
“Our fire district usually replaces our vehicles on a 15-year basis, so it was time to replace this truck,” Balletta says. “We decided to look into something smaller and more maneuverable around our response district.”
The department came to the conclusion that a rear-mount straight stick ladder would work best, the captain says, noting the other ladder company across town had just purchased a mid-mount platform, so there was no need to duplicate that type of aerial device.
“The straight stick, we felt, would be more maneuverable, easier to set up, and take up less space on the fireground,” he says, adding that the department specified the ladder to have more compartment space with room for the future and to be lower to the ground to make it easier for personnel to work around the apparatus.
“After looking at several manufacturers, we decided to go with Ferrara because it met all of our specs,” he says, noting the decision was easy because Elmont’s entire fire fleet over the past 10 years has been manufactured by Ferrara.
“Our members and committee were familiar with Ferrara’s quality and ease of operation,” Balletta says. “It would also save time in training and familiarity in parts and maintenance for our members and fire district.”
The captain adds that Elmont was fortunate to have a local Ferrara dealer only a few miles from its station and the department worked out an arrangement to have the dealer do all the warranty work for the aerial.
One of the unique features about the apparatus is forcible entry tools, hooks, and water extinguishers in recessed, open cabinets on the exterior of both sides of the cab, Balletta says. “This way, no matter how the truck is parked, our firefighters have easy and quick access to the tools for a smoother operation,” he says.
Elmont was also attracted to the Ferrara rear-mount aerial and its fast and easy setup, he says.
“The whole setup time takes anywhere from 30 to 45 seconds from the tim