Cameron Probert

Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.)

(MCT)

Aug. 22—KENNEWICK, Wa. — The stretch of the Columbia River along Benton County’s southern border used to be a lonely place to get in trouble.

Rescue crews had drive from the Tri-Cities, taking an hour to get into the water.

For the last month though, firefighters and sheriff’s deputies quickly rescued several people from a sinking boat, helped a stranded boater and responded to an emergency beacon.

The faster response was thanks to a used boat that Benton County Fire District 6 was able to buy from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office for $2,500.

Normally, similar boats cost about $250,000. And that’s far beyond the budget of the largely volunteer fire district with an annual budget of $900,000.

“We couldn’t afford it otherwise,” said Fire Chief Rolland Watt. “We’re in the process of trying to replace some of the aging vehicles. The land-based responses would have to come first.”

He credited Interim Benton County Sheriff Jon Law with brokering the deal with the county co

By Alan M. Petrillo

E-ONE has built a pair of HR100 aerial ladder trucks for Omaha (NE) Fire Department on single rear axles to address the department’s need for a more maneuverable aerial than that of a dual rear axle version.

Jim Schurkamp, engineer with Omaha Fire’s Technical Services Division, maintains that single rear axle aerials are much easier to maintain than dual rear axle aerials because they have a single set of brakes, bearings, and other associated equipment. “We have seven trucks that are straight sticks, and two tower platforms, with no pumps or tanks on any of our aerials,” Schurkamp says. “We have approximately 650 paid firefighters staffing 24 stations, and each of our aerials and engines are staffed with four firefighters, except for our water tenders and medical units.”

Joe Hedges, product manager for chassis and aerials at E-ONE, says each of the two HR100 aerials are built on a Cyclone chassis and cab with a 100-foot welded extruded aluminum ladder that has a 2.5 to 1 structural safety factor, powered by a 500-horsepower (hp) Cummins X12 diesel engine and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission. “The aerials have extruded aluminum bodies with 10 compartments covered by ROM rollup doors, a pinnable waterway to the tip and 500-pound tip load wet or dry, a high angle of departure, and a bobbed-off back to allow the rig to get around streets more easily,” he notes.

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