Fire District voters approve up to $950K for new ladder truck in Holley
Photos by Tom Rivers: Holley firefighters practiced a bail-out drill tonight on Thomas Street across from the fire hall. They used the ladder truck to get to the second floor window.
HOLLEY – Voters in the Holley Joint Fire District approved spending up to $950,000 for a new ladder truck this evening.
The vote was from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the fire hall and the resolution passed, 43-2.
The new truck will have a 100-foot ladder. It will replace a truck that is about 20 years old with a 75-foot ladder. Holley bought the current ladder truck as a used fire truck in 2008.
These blueprints show the new fire truck for the Holley Joint Fire District. The new truck would have a 100-foot-long ladder, compared to the 75 feet on the current one.
The truck has been plagued with electrical and hydraulic problems in recent years, as well as rusted structural components, said John Totter, chairman of the Fire District’s board of commissioners.
“We had to put a big chunk of change into it last year to keep it going, to increase the sale-ability and to make it safe,” Totter said about the current ladder truck.
The Fire District is working with the Rosenbauer Group on the new fire truck. The district needs to wait 20 days to make sure no objections are filed with the election. Totter said he is hopeful the district can sign a contract with Rosenbauer before the end of the year. It will take about a year from then for the truck’s delivery. Totter said December 2018 is a reasonable target date for the truck.
The bays in the firehall don’t leave much room to get in a fire truck. The new truck will have to be customized in height and length to fit in the fire hall.
