MVFD receives new and improved ladder truck through national grant

MOUNT VERNON – Mount Vernon Fire Department unveiled a new piece of equipment Friday that will allow it to serve the community like never before.

Chief Chad Christopher presented the department’s new ladder truck, which it received through a FEMA grant two years ago. The custom truck was built over the past year in Sioux Falls, SD, headquarters of world-leading emergency vehicle manufacturer Rosenbauer.

The $752,221 vehicle contains a 75-foot ladder, which is mounted to a swiveling base near the center of the truck. The ladder is walkable, which was not the case for the department’s last ladder truck, a 1991 Sutphan model. The ladder on the old truck (which is currently up for auction) was only used for emergency building departures.

The cab of the new truck contains updated technology, including a modern phone system, which will allow for better communication between firemen.

“Just like anything, newer models are always better, and that’s what we see in this truck,” Christopher said. “You know, technology and stuff have come a long ways, and that’s what this truck features.”

The new ladder is wider and has taller railings, allowing firefighters to ascend and descend safely while reaching the upper levels of a burning building. There is a spacious platform at the top of the ladder, allowing firefighters more room to cut away at a burning roof and perform other entry methods.

The new truck holds a 300-gallon water tank and a 2,000 gallon-per-minute pump system. It can also be operated via remote control if need be. There is a control on the side of the truck that can move the nozzle at the end of the ladder and spray the water.

The truck features a separate remote control as well, which will allow the operator to stand up to 250 feet away from the truck while pivoting the ladder and controlling the nozzle. This will allow firefighters to maintain a safe distance from the fire while operating the truck.

“This truck’s going to get out a bunch,” Christopher said with a grin. “And that’s big for us, that’s adding another layer of firefighting that we really haven’t been able to provide with the other one because it was just so limited to the amount of calls and stuff that we could go out on.”

One of the most welcome features of the new truck, however, is its size – or rather, its lack thereof. The new ladder truck is smaller than the department’s older model, which will allow it to maneuver down narrow side streets and complete tight turns within the city.

To cap it all off, the new vehicle is painted in Mount Vernon High School orange-and-black, and features the Yellow Jacket mascot prominently in the front and back.

“It’s a specialty truck and we wanted to support our community and our high school colors,” Christopher said. “So we went with our high school colors, orange and black, and on the sides and back end we have our fighting Yellow Jacket. When we’re out in the community a bunch in parades and at football games, stuff like that, it’s going to be a great truck for our community.”

Christopher said the new ladder truck is the only one in Knox County with such capabilities. Some of the other ladder trucks are older, he said, and are not as functional.

“This is really the only ladder truck in the county,” Christopher said. “And we will work with our mutual aid partners when that’s called upon. We will take it wherever it needs to go.”

At nearly $800,000, Christopher said it is the most expensive truck the department has ever owned.

But given all the new features it boasts – and how it will increase not only the safety of the firefighters operating it, but also the community – Christopher said it was well worth it.

“It’s going to be utilized,” Christopher said. “It’s not going to sit outside and be a $800,000 show truck. It’s actually going to get out and get to work.”

National grant

Of the $752,221 it cost to make the truck, $636,228 was covered by the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) grant. MVFD was chosen from 10,000 fire departments across the country for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant two years ago. The department worked with grant writer Mickey Smith, president of Ohio First Responders Grants, LLC, for nearly a year to complete the 29-page grant application.

Smith said Friday that 75-80 new trucks were awarded to departments nationwide by FEMA that year (fiscal year 16), and eight were awarded to Ohio departments. The thousands of grant applications were reviewed by a panel of firefighters which determined the winners by looking at several need-based factors.

MVFD had to show it deserved the grant based on factors such as its financial situation, average run volume and the status of its old ladder truck, among many others.

The department’s old ladder truck was 25 years old at the time the application was written, and Smith deemed it “not safe” to use any longer. Smith also said MVFD’s position in the county – operating in the most populous city, serving taller buildings and narrower side streets – played a role in the selection process.

The department’s finances played a role as well. Smith said that on a national scale, MVFD is “extraordinarily poor when it comes down to their budget,” which likely made it more favorable for the peer review panel.

“You guys competed against 10,000 other applicants from across the United States and you won,” Smith told the crowd of city employees and community leaders that gathered at the firehouse for Friday’s presentation.

“You have the highest numbers, you have the highest run volume, and you scored the best when it came to the peer panel review… The peers were convinced that you guys need a new ladder, because the other one’s just not safe.”

Smith said the Assistance to Firefighters Grant was created in 2002 as a response to 9/11. Initially, about $980 million funded the grant; when MVFD submitted its application two years ago, that number was down to $320 million.

But the purpose of the grant has stayed the same, Smith said – to increase firefighter safety and, in turn, increase community safety.

“It’s all about making it safer for our guys to operate,” Smith told the firefighters in attendance.

“While our program is about firefighter safety, it’s also about bolstering communities’ needs. With this being the only aerial in the county – you guys have got the hospital, you’ve got all the other commercial developments around here – that’s going to bolster your ability to do your job and to keep (your community) safe.”

Local funding

The grant took care of 85 percent of the truck’s cost, and the city (including taxpayers) picked up the remaining $115,993 bill. The fire department worked with city administration, such as city council member Janis Seavolt (who chairs the Police, Fire and Civil Defense Committee), to help put the grant together alongside Smith.

If the truck remains operational for the expected 25 years, and yearly run averages hold true, Smith said the vehicle will have cost taxpayers 87 cents per run over that time span.

“If my house was on fire, I’ll pay more than a dollar,” city safety service director Joel Daniels quipped.

Rosenbauer’s aerial division will come Jan. 8-10 to help train each of the department’s crews. Christopher expects the new ladder truck to officially hit the streets on Jan. 17.

After two years of grant work and truck design, Christopher and the department’s staff seemed thrilled to unveil the new orange-and-black engine on Friday, labeled “Ladder 491.” Christopher commended Smith for his work and expressed gratitude for the new vehicle, which he believes will provide safer, more modern community care.

“It’s great. I mean, it’s truly going to be a truck that we can utilize and get out into the community,” Christopher said. “You know, there are some times in those fire scenes where just, we’ve missed that aspect of truck company operations. And now we’re going to be able to provide that.”