The Salem Fire Protection District has put a new fire truck into service, a 95-foot-tall aerial platform.
The 2014 unit was purchased used from the Monarch Fire Protection District in Chesterfield, MO which was purchasing a new truck for their use.
Fire Chief Jim Cerny says the unit has several advantages over the 40-year-old aerial truck they will now retire.
“They’re both very similar,” Cerny said. “They’ve got the same length and everything. This truck has more pump capacity, so more water can flow. The setup of this truck is much faster, so we can get it in use much faster at a fire call.”
Cerny explains how the aerial truck is utilized.
“They can be used for rescue, getting someone out of a second or third floor window. They can also be used for flowing water. It has a waterway with a large-volume nozzle at the top, and that can be positioned to spray water wherever it needs to go on a tall building.”
Cerny says they located the truck during an extensive nationwide search for an exception used truck. He notes by purchasing the outstanding used unit, the Fire Trustees saved the taxpayers over 80-percent of the cost of a new unit which can reach $1.2 million. Through proper fiscal planning, the trustees were able to make this purchase within the fire district’s current budget. The Salem Fire Protection District is very appreciative of the City of Salem’s participation in the acquisition, as they contributed $125,000 of the purchase price through the tax increment financing district.
The apparatus is an integral piece of the district’s ability to maintain its Insurance Services Office rating of a Class 3 within the hydrant loop of the City of Salem. The ISO Class 3 rating which places Salem Fire Protection District in the top 5-percent of firefighting agencies in the U.S. is the basis for many insurance companies to set their premiums.
The fire district is inviting the public to come by the fire station at 203 South Broadway between seven am and seven pm to take a first-hand look at the new truck.
A Salem firefighter operates the new aerial truck ladder. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
The Salem Fire District’s new aerial truck with its ladder fully raised. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
