The New Albany Township (IN) Fire Department had Ferrara Fire Apparatus build this Cinder HD-77 rear-mount aerial quint that has an extended cab with an 8-inch notched raised roof and seating for six firefighters. (Photos courtesy of Ferrara Fire Apparatus.)
The New Albany Township (IN) Fire Department has had most of its apparatus fleet built by Ferrara Fire Apparatus, so when its ladder truck came up on the department’s replacement cycle, it again turned to Ferrara to build a new aerial.
The Ferrara-built quint is powered by a Cummins 450-hp L9 engine, and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission.
“We replace our aerials every seven years and pumpers every five,” Jamey Noel, New Albany’s chief says. “Our existing Ferrara ladder wasn’t scheduled for replacement for two years, but when we found out that Ferrara had a quint as a stock unit, we decided not to wait to replace it. The chassis and aerial were already built, so they worked with us on going through our specs to determine all the options that we wanted.”
The New Albany quint’s aerial ladder has a 77-foot vertical reach and a 70-foot horizontal reach.
The resulting truck is a Ferrara Cinder HD-77 rear-mount aerial quint with F-Shield frame rail treatment, an extended cab with an 8-inch notched raised roof and seating for six firefighters powered by a Cummins 450-hp L9 engine and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission, says Paul Christiansen, Ferrara’s aerial sales manager. “The aerial has a heavy-duty, three-section ladder of 100,000-psi steel construction with a 77-foot vertical reach and 70-foot horizontal reach,” he says.
The tip of the quint’s aerial has an Akron 3480 Stream Master monitor with a 1,500-gpm nozzle and two Whelen Pioneer LED scene lights.
The quint carries a Hale Qmax 1,750-gpm pump, a 500-gallon water tank, three crosslays (two 1¾ inch and one 2½-inch), a front bumper discharge, a 4-inch discharge on the right side, a 4-inch aerial waterway discharge, an Akron 3480 Stream Master monitor with a 1,500-gpm nozzle, and a positional waterway with electric actuated shift that allows the operator to select between water tower and rescue modes, he adds.
The Ferrara quint carries a Hale Qmax 1,750-gpm pump, a 500-gallon water tank, three crosslays (two 1¾-inch and one 2½-inch), a front bumper discharge, a 4-inch discharge on the right side, and a 4-inch aerial waterway discharge.
The heavy-duty extruded aluminum body has left-side compartments that are full height and 24 inches deep, while the right side has a full-height compartment ahead of the rear wheel and an EZ-Stack hosebed that holds 1,000 feet of 5-inch LDH, and 400 feet of 2½-inch hose, Christiansen points out.
The right side of the quint has an EZ-Stack hosebed that holds 1,000 feet of 5-inch LDH and 400 feet of 2½-inch hose.
Lighting on the New Albany quint includes two Whelen 12-volt LED Pioneer brow lights, two Whelen 12-volt LED Pioneer scene lights on the sides of the cab, two Whelen Pioneer scene lights above the L1 and R1 compartments, a Whelen Pioneer LED light on each side of the ladder tip, and a Whelen Pioneer Micro light on each ladder base section. Six pike poles and 150 feet of ground ladders are stored in the full-length torque box, including two 35-foot extension ladders, one 24-foot extension ladder, two 16-foot roof ladders, one 14-foot combination ladder, and one 10 foot folding attic ladder.
The full-length torque box holds six pike poles and 150 feet of ground ladders.
Noel says that “Two weeks ago we had it working on a large house fire that was through the roof when we arrived, but it acquitted itself well used in a defensive mode. Our firefighters love the truck because its easy to use and is a very reliable vehicle.”
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
