New fire truck rolls in

A 30-year-old 1989 fire truck made way for a new 2019 version for Holyoke Volunteer Fire Department last week.

Thanks to a mill levy increase approved by voters in Holyoke Fire Protection District in November of 2017, the new fire truck was made possible. It was delivered Thursday, Nov. 7.

It was an exciting time for the rural board when members inspected the new fire truck that’s been over a year in the making.

Later Thursday evening, firefighters had the chance to check out the new truck, as well.

It will be several weeks before the truck is actually put into service as the HVFD waits for some equipment delivery.

Rosenbauer of Minnesota built the Timberwolf truck. Floyd Bacon and Pete Leizer of MaxFire Apparatus in Castle Rock (Rosenbauer’s Colorado dealer) delivered the truck last week.

As administrator/project manager for MaxFire, Leizer was the liaison between the Holyoke VFD and Rosenbauer of Minnesota to determine the specs for how the truck was to be built.

An HVFD core committee of four worked with Leizer, obtaining input from all HVFD members to decide the best truck options for the local department.

Leizer worked with the department to design apparatus so the truck was built to meet their needs.

The four committee members included Bob Heldenbrand, Josh Young, Lance Murray and retired member Mark Brown. Heldenbrand was quick to point out that this group did the traveling part but the whole department provided input.

The foursome traveled to Rosenbauer of Minnesota in August of 2018 to talk directly with the truck builders. Line item by line item, they discussed everything in and on the truck, giving a yes or no on each item before construction began.

The second trip to Minnesota was made six weeks ago, on Sept. 30, for a final inspection.

Heldenbrand was genuinely sincere when he said, “I’m glad to have the chance to express thanks to the rural fire board for working with us to let us get the best truck for our needs.”

Heldenbrand said the committee attended several of the rural board meetings to define and explain the truck options that they wanted to see in place.

He appreciated the camaraderie and great working relationship with the rural board, including members Riley Dubbert, Bob Koberstein, Mark Lutze, Carroll Bussell and Ryan Brackhan, as well as Orville Tonsing, secretary to the board.

“It was a good cooperative effort with good camaraderie,” said Heldenbrand, emphasizing the VFD input allowed by the fire board to put together another 30-year truck. “It was a good group effort of the fire department and rural board.”

Truck features detailed

The 2019 Timberwolf six-speed, automatic transmission, four-wheel-drive fire truck with a Cummins 350 horsepower, 9 liter diesel engine includes a number of the latest features.

A normal and high-pressure pump rated at 1,000 gallons per minute is included, along with a 750-gallon tank.

The new four-door truck can haul four crew members plus a driver, while the 1989 truck hauls only one passenger plus a driver.

“The purchase of this truck will definitely benefit the use of our personnel,” Heldenbrand said.

On one hand, it will add personnel advantageously to some scenes, and on the other hand, it will free up personnel in other scenarios.

For instance, the added firefighters on motor vehicle accidents will be a benefit for routing traffic, among other tasks, Heldenbrand noted.

Once it’s equipped, the new truck will be taken to motor vehicle accidents instead of the two-person pickup, adding three more firefighters to the response team. The department also takes five people in the Rescue 17.

For pump-and-roll operations in fighting grass fires, two people in the new truck can handle what used to take five firefighters. This will be a huge personnel advantage for HVFD.

Explaining the procedure, Heldenbrand said the turret nozzle gun on the front bumper is electronically controlled from inside the cab. One person can drive while the second operates the nozzle remotely to spray high pressure water or a water/foam solution.

A deck gun or deluge gun with a large-volume nozzle on top of the truck is capable of shooting 1,000 gallons a minute at close to a 100-foot reach.

The nozzle can be pulled and placed on a ground bracket to be used as a ground monitor (unmanned nozzle), making it very versatile.

Heldenbrand noted that the turret gun nozzle on the front of the truck has a 1.5-inch diameter, while the deluge gun nozzle has a 2.5-inch diameter for higher volume.

Leizer told about the nice light tower that was made by a Colorado company called Command Light in Fort Collins. The LED lights run off 12V DC, so no generator needed to be purchased. Talking about light output, he said it’s a 60,000 lumin tower.

The lighting was impressive when turned on in the truck shed. Heldenbrand looks forward to seeing its impact when out on a dark night.

The new truck is also equipped with a 360-degree-view camera system with recording capabilities. Heldenbrand said this will be used during the call reviews and will be helpful in training, as well.

Leizer emphasized that the truck has a very heavy duty body built to last and comes with a lifetime transferrable structural warranty, as well.

The department’s 1989 truck will be kept in reserve to be ready in case it’s needed to supplement the new truck services.

While it’s a good dilemma, Heldenbrand said the issue now is arranging the trucks in the shed so that when a call comes in, the units required can respond without having to move other vehicles first.