Special Delivery Alan M. Petrillo

The Addison (TX) Fire Department was adhering to its replacement schedule of purchasing a new rig after 10 years of service as a current frontline rig, which meant that its 2015 75-foot aerial platform ladder was headed to reserve.

It also meant that to stay on schedule, the department had to consider varying which manufacturer it would be buying from.

After checking out several manufacturers and what they had to offer as well as their lead times, Addison decided to go with a Spartan Emergency Response (ER) rear-mount aerial ladder quint, Captain Matt Ferguson notes. “We wanted a straight stick instead of a platform,” he points out. “We’re a small suburb located 14 miles north of downtown Dallas, and half of our city is taken up by the general aviation Addison Airport. The city is a pretty condensed area where we occasionally have difficulty with the tail swing on our aerial platform, so we decided on a straight stick as being more maneuverable.”

Darwin Kampa, account manager for Spartan ER, says Addison Fire’s new 107-foot rear-mount aerial ladder quint is built on a Spartan Gladiator extralong, four-door (ELFD) cab and chassis with a 5-inch raised roof and seating for six firefighters, three of them in H.O. Bostrom self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) seats with IMMI SmartDock brackets. It is powered by a 565-horsepower (hp) Cummins X15 engine and Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission. Kampa adds that the quint’s wheelbase is 251 inches; its overall length is 42 feet 5 inches; and its overall height is 12 feet 5 inches. Brian Cudaback, apparatus sales director for Metro Fire Apparatus Specialists Inc., who sold the quint to Addison Fire, says the rig’s aerial has a 750-pound tip load when flowing 1,500 gallons per minute (gpm) and is stabilized by four H-style jacks, two behind the cab and two behind the rear dual wheel axles, with an 18-foot jack spread. Cudaback notes that the truck has a 2,000-gpm Waterous CSUC20 pump, a 480-gallon water tank, a 20-gallon foam tank, and a FoamPro 2002 foam proportioning system.

Ferguson says that some of the fea- tures on the unit that Addison fire- fighters especially like are the digital camera at the end of the stick that allows the operator to see exactly where the tip is located, an electronic feature controlled from the turn- table that can switch the waterway from fire suppression to rescue mode, and the rig’s 277 cubic feet of compart- ment space.

He points out that Addison had Spartan ER build in two tall compartments at the back of the cab to the rear of the crew cab doors. “The officer’s side holds two 6-foot New York hooks, a set of irons, and a water can,” Ferguson notes, “while the driver’s side has electronic road flares, traffic cones, and other traffic control equipment.” He adds, “And, the quint’s foam tank and foam system, where we run F3 foam, are essential equipment because we protect the Addison Airport.”

Ferguson says the new rig has two 1 3/4-inch crosslays of 200 feet each, one tipped with a smoothbore nozzle and the other with a fog nozzle, and one 200-foot 2 1/2-inch crosslay tipped with a smoothbore nozzle. In addition, Addison’s quint has a 100-foot hose bundle that can be extended off the 2 1/2-inch hoseline as well as 100 feet of 1 3/4-inch hose preconnected in the extended front bumper.

He notes that the new quint also carries 200 feet of 2-inch hose in a high- rise pack, 100 feet of one-inch redline booster hose on an electric Hannay reel in the dunnage area, a Task Force Tips 2,000-gpm Flex® electronic monitor and nozzle, and a slide-out tray at the rear of the truck that holds up to 500 feet of 5-inch large-diameter hose (LDH).

1 Spartan ER built this 107-foot rear-mount aerial ladder quint with a Waterous 2,000-gpm pump, a 480-gallon water tank, a 20-gallon foam tank, and a FoamPro 2002 foam system for the Addison (TX) Fire Department. (Photos courtesy of Metro Fire Apparatus Specialists Inc.)

2 The quint has a 750-pound tip load when flowing 1,500 gpm and is stabilized by four H-style jacks, two behind the cab and two behind the rear dual wheel axles, with an 18-foot jack spread.

3 The quint has a Task Force Tips Flex electronic monitor and nozzle at the aerial’s tip.The quint has a Task Force Tips Flex electronic monitor and nozzle at the aerial’s tip.

4 The vehicle has a slide-out at the rear of the truck that can hold up to 500 feet of 5-inch LDH.

Cudaback notes that the ground ladder complement on the truck includes one 35-foot three-section extension ladder, one 28-foot two- section extension ladder, one 16-foot roof ladder, and one Murphy Mega 11-foot folding ladder. The rig also carries one 10-foot pike pole and 10-foot and 8-foot New York hooks in the ladder compartment, as well as a 14-foot roof ladder on the base of the aerial and an 8-foot New York hook on the aerial’s fly.

5 The quint’s cab is set up with seating for six firefighters, three of them in H.O. Bostrom SCBA seats with IMMI SmartDock brackets.

Cudaback says that lighting on the aerial quint includes Whelen LED emergency lighting, two Whelen Freedom IV’ Mini LED lightbars, Whelen ION LED lighting at the rear and sides of the rig that act as directional lighting when the rig is used for blocking, and two Whelen Pioneer PCH1 LED lights at the tip of the aerial.

“Running the 107-foot rear-mount aerial ladder quint is a big difference from our previous 75-foot midmount,” Ferguson points out. “The new quint is located in our Station 2, which is situated in an area with a lot of two- and three-story apartment buildings and also a relatively new 13-story high- rise, so having the extra height and reach of the 107-footer is a big help.”

ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist who has served as a newspaper reporter, editor, and magazine writer and is a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.