It did not take long for the Barrhead Fire Department (BFD) to put its newest $700,000 equipment acquisition through its paces.
On Friday, Aug. 19, the BFD received its long-awaited aerial fire truck. In April, Barrhead town council approved the purchase of a 2007 Pierce 100-foot platform fire truck. The purchase was conditional upon a physical inspection of truck by members of the BFD and the Town of Barrhead public works staff.
The Barrhead Fire Department had been investigating the possibility of replacing its aerial truck after retiring the 37-year-old aerial truck about four years ago.
Barrhead fire chief, John Whittaker, said the department is excited to be able to have the aerial truck as part of its firefighting arsenal.
“We’ve been waiting for it some time now,” he said, adding originally it was hoped the truck would have been ready for service on July 1, but that a few minor repairs, which were all covered under warranty, had to be completed first. In addition to the repairs, the truck, which was purchased from a fire department in the southern U.S. had to undergo a winterization process to prepare it for the weather conditions in Barrhead.
Whittaker said the aerial truck gives firefighters more flexibility in firefighting and rescue situations.
Besides giving fire crews the ability to gain access to the taller structures in Barrhead, such as Klondike place, the elevators and a number of apartment buildings in town, the aerial truck has a number of built-in capabilities, which will make firefighters more effective and make their job safer.
“It is more than just an ordinary ladder truck. It is an aerial platform fire truck meaning it gives us a working platform and a solid base for our guys to work from,” Whittaker said.
For example, he said because the truck has an air compression system, which firefighters can access.
“Our firefighters can work from the (ladder’s) basket without having to use the air that is on their backs,” Whittaker said. “This will allow our members to not only work safer, but a little bit longer.”
Another benefit of the aerial truck is the added capability in combating fires in large buildings that are not necessarily tall, but long and wide.
“Anything that has a large surface area, such as our grocery stores, downtown building blocks and our schools, if there is a fire, we would call out the ladder truck,” he said, adding many rural buildings fall into the same category.
Although the aerial truck was in Barrhead on Aug. 19 to 21, to give BFD members an opportunity to become certified on the aerial truck, it still needed to have more work done before it is put into full-time service, such as the installation of the radios and decaling it with the BFD logos. If all things go as planned, the truck will be in service by Aug. 30.
