The Orange City Fire Department is preparing to place a new $1.8 million tower truck into service, adding an articulating platform and upgraded scene lighting to its emergency response capabilities.
Tower 61 replaces the department’s 1998 Ladder 61, which featured a traditional 105-foot aerial ladder. Fire Chief Dan Roghair says the department evaluated its needs through Orange City’s long-term vehicle replacement process before pursuing the new truck.
The city provided the funding for Tower 61 as part of its strategic planning. Roghair says the department supplies the city with projected replacement timelines for its vehicles, allowing major purchases to be anticipated years in advance.
Platform Adds New Reach
While the former Ladder 61 used a straight aerial ladder — sometimes called a “stick” in the fire service — the new truck has a 101-foot platform that gives firefighters a bucket-like working area.
“The department looked at it and most people feel more comfortable operating off a platform, kind of a bucket on the front,” Roghair said.
Tower 61’s platform can also articulate downward approximately 10 feet. That feature could help firefighters reach the back side of a peaked roof or lower the platform behind a raised storefront wall, also known as a parapet.
“For us, what we can do is we can come up to that roof, and then we can articulate down 10 feet and put that platform right on that roof on the back side,” Roghair said.
Roghair says no other department in the immediate area has that type of articulating platform. While the new truck’s maximum reach is four feet shorter than the department’s former ladder, the articulating feature gives firefighters additional positioning options.
The truck also includes enhanced LED scene lighting that can be elevated over an emergency scene. Roghair says aerial trucks are used not only to spray water or conduct rescues, but also to support firefighters working on the ground.
“We have very intense LED lighting. That elevated lighting enhances scene safety, enhances firefighters’ capabilities and helps with, like, investigations and stuff,” Roghair said.
The elevated lighting will be particularly beneficial at rural scenes where other sources of illumination may be limited.
Training Before Tower 61 Enters Service
Tower 61 is approximately six to seven feet longer than the department’s previous aerial truck. Roghair says that the new truck will not be placed into service until firefighters complete training on its controls, safety procedures, and other new features.
The department has scheduled three training sessions for its personnel on August 5 and 6. Tower 61 is expected to officially enter service Friday, August 7.
Orange City’s former Ladder 61 is being purchased by the Salix Fire Department. Once Orange City’s training is complete and the new truck is in service, Orange City firefighters will help train Salix personnel to operate the 1998 ladder truck.
Roghair says it took approximately three years for Orange City to receive Tower 61. The department has also established another truck committee as it begins working toward the future replacement of a rural pumper.
A Resource Beyond Orange City
Although the City of Orange City funded Tower 61, Roghair says its capabilities will be available to surrounding departments when requested through mutual-aid agreements.
“We respond to wherever we’re needed,” Roghair said. “We have mutual aid agreements throughout the county.”
Roghair says the truck is a significant investment supported by Orange City taxpayers, but it will serve as a shared emergency-response resource for other communities in the region.
See more pictures of the new truck here.
