Searching for the right aerial fire truck for an urban environment? To support the needs of an urban community, and if applicable, mutual aid in a neighboring city, fire department purchasing representatives have many apparatus options to consider. This blog outlines a detailed discovery process to use as you begin your search, including:

Every community has a unique set of firefighting challenges to manage, and urban fire departments often face some similar circumstances, including:

Setting out to purchase a new fire apparatus is certainly no easy feat. From understanding the fire truck buying process to investigating consortiums and other funding opportunities, fire department representatives must navigate through many complex steps. Establishing the fire truck buying criteria is a critical step that should come early in the purchasing process. This starts by understanding the mission of the truck:

Once the mission of the truck is understood, identifying the type of truck to support the critical needs is required. Is a tiller required to navigate tighter streets, cul du sacs and traffic congestion? Would a smaller aerial fire truck suffice? Would a quint satisfy all requirements?

In addition to understanding the types of calls a new fire truck may service, it’s also important to consider the geographic and infrastructure make-up of the service area. Completing a city assessment and infrastructure review is a great place to start. Take the time to drive around your community with a little bit of a different perspective—evaluate the overall geographic terrain and look for height restrictions, including overpasses, railroad bridges, power lines, overhead obstructions and large trees. As you survey the fire truck service area, be sure to evaluate the existing infrastructure and buildings in detail.

Take time to review the infrastructure in your fire department service area to get a sense of the required truck capabilities and avoid any surprises in the buying process. Here are a few things to look for:

Urban environments can look very different from city to city and even within the same jurisdiction. Understanding the building considerations in a fire truck’s immediate service area, or mutual aid service area can dictate the ideal type of truck and configuration. Below, we outline several building considerations worth evaluating before you finalize your fire truck design.

Whether a fire department is considering a quint or non-quint aerial device, additional consideration needs to be given to ground ladder requirements. NFPA 1901 requires a minimum of 115’ feet of ground ladders on an aerial fire apparatus. If a new apparatus is a quint, NFPA requires a minimum of 85’ feet of ground ladders. Due to housing and building construction, some departments may have special ladder requirements or specify an ISO ground ladder complement. Be sure to discuss ground ladder special requirements with your fire truck manufacturer.

Don’t forget about the importance of evaluating your fire station! You need to make sure that any new fire apparatus will fit within the restrictions of your firehouse. Here is a quick checklist of items to review:

Pierce Manufacturing is dedicated to providing educational information to fire departments and committee representatives throughout the fire truck buying lifecycle. If your fire department is interested in learning more about types of aerial devices, take a look at these additional resources:

Posted: Apr 19, 2022 8:30:00 AM by Pierce Mfg.

About Pierce Manufacturing Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation [NYSE: OSK] company, is the leading North American manufacturer of custom fire apparatus. Products include custom and commercial pumpers, aerials, rescue trucks, wildland trucks, mini pumpers, elliptical tankers, and homeland security apparatus. In addition, Pierce designs its own foam systems and was the first company to introduce frontal airbags and the Side Roll Protection system to fire apparatus. To learn more about Pierce, visit www.piercemfg.com.

At Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK), we make innovative, mission-critical equipment to help everyday heroes advance communities around the world. Headquartered in Wisconsin, Oshkosh Corporation employs more than 14,000 team members worldwide, all united behind a common cause: to make a difference in people’s lives. Oshkosh products can be found in more than 150 countries under the brands of JLG®, Pierce®, Oshkosh® Defense, McNeilus®, IMT®, Jerr-Dan®, Frontline™, Oshkosh® Airport Products, London™ and Pratt Miller. For more information, visit oshkoshcorp.com.

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This news release contains statements that the Company believes to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s future financial position, business strategy, targets, projected sales, costs, earnings, capital expenditures, debt levels and cash flows, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “should,” “project” or “plan” or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition; the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic; actions that may be taken by governmental authorities and others to address or otherwise mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on global economies and the Company’s customers, suppliers and employees; and the cyclical nature of the Company’s Access Equipment, Commercial and Fire & Emergency markets, which are particularly impacted by the strength of U.S. and European economies and construction seasons.

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