Bedford will soon take delivery of a spanking new aerial fire truck: Ladder One is under construction at the KME Fire Apparatus (KME) plant in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania. An industry leader for more than 40 years, KME has built fire trucks for cities and towns around the United States, including Boston, New York and Los Angeles.
KME estimates a 270-day build schedule, but Ladder One’s acquisition process has taken quite a bit longer: Bedford’s Fire Chief David Grunes presented the department’s request to replace the current truck during a Capital Expenditures meeting in November, 2012.
Bedford’s current Ladder One, a 1997 Pierce aerial ladder vehicle, was built in August, 1997 and has accumulated more than 35,000 miles on an average of 300 to 400 calls annually. Citing deterioration to its 17-year-old chassis, the Capital Expenditures Committee learned that rust and corrosion had been persistent problems, and that the truck has been fully repainted twice after going into service in 1997.
Although Bedford doesn’t have the tall buildings often associated with the use of aerial ladder vehicles, Chief Grunes explained that building height and distance from the road for some of the multi-story or larger single-family homes necessitates a ladder truck with its height and reach capacity because “heat rises and fire goes up.”
Funds to purchase the new vehicle were voted at Bedford’s 2013 Annual Town Meeting where a motion to authorize the Town to borrow $960,000 was adopted by more than two-thirds of the voters present.
Chief Grunes hopes to introduce the town’s new Ladder One on Bedford Day, September 20.
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Those tiny light bars on the roof look terrible.
I remember seeing the ladder fully extended for a house fire on Fletcher.. They really need the long ladder..it’s not like they have the engine right next to the building.