Waterloo Fire Rescue using loaner truck
Published: April 25, 2006
Renting a loaner when the station wagon is in the shop is one thing.
But finding a temporary replacement for an $800,000 fire truck is another, as Waterloo firefighters found out when they made plans to refurbish their main ladder truck.
Enter the Sioux City Fire Department.
The western Iowa city agreed to loan Waterloo Fire Rescue its reserve truck at a reasonable rate.
“This is the way Iowans do it, but it still is quite a thing when help comes from all the way across the state,” said Waterloo Mayor Tim Hurley.
“I am very, very grateful to the Sioux City administration for stepping forward and helping us out at a time of need, and under favorable terms,” he said.
Sioux City’s 1989 Pierce aerial truck went into service late last week after Waterloo crews got up to speed on working the controls. The truck will keep its SCFD markings while on duty in Waterloo, but local firefighters attached a big “thank you” banner in front of the Sioux City Fire Dept. logo on the hydraulic ladder.
Waterloo Fire Rescue’s Engine 311, which is a 1986 Pierce, is being sent to Wisconsin for a $110,000 makeover, said Ned DeBerg, Waterloo’s fire chief. The fixes will keep the truck going for another five years, he said.
Engine 311 is the only truck on Waterloo’s fire department that can reach the highest buildings in the city, DeBerg said. The tallest structure is 10 stories, and the truck’s 105-foot motorized ladder can reach it if placed in the right spot.
The city’s second ladder truck, Engine 308, has a 75-foot ladder that can reach the fifth and sixth stories, DeBerg said.
So, with Engine 311 headed for Wisconsin, Darryl Hartema, the department’s mechanic, was tasked with finding a truck to fit the bill in the interim.
Dealers were asking $250 per day or $85,000 per year to lease temporary replacements.
“We did some checking around,” DeBerg said. “There are very few departments that have an extra aerial sitting around.”
But Sioux City had one in reserve and allowed Waterloo to rent it for $1,200 a month — about $39 per day, DeBerg said.
There are a few differences between Waterloo’s main aerial and the loaner truck.
Waterloo’s truck has a pump onboard, but the Sioux City engine has to be hooked up to a separate pumper to spray water. The Waterloo truck also has a platform at the top of the main ladder to provide extra safety during rescues.
Engine 311’s main mission is to rescue people who get trapped on the upper floors of burning buildings. After that, the nozzle at the top of the ladder can unleash a 1,500-gallon-a-minute torrent at the flames.
Although these uses are rare, the truck rolls for all general alarm fires because it carries an array of other vital equipment like normal ladders, high power lights and a generator.
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