03/28/2024
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The Elizabethtown Rotary Club met on Wednesday and learned about the new fire truck that will be delivered shortly to the Elizabethtown Fire Department.

Chief Nick West updated the club regarding the status of the truck and discussed its capabilities. He said the new truck is due to arrive soon and had been delayed due to a warranty issue with the paint on the roll-up doors of the truck.

Chief West said the new fire engine will meet all of the requirements of modern firefighting for the town of Elizabethtown.

He said that he and a mechanic along with a representative form the dealer and manufacturer performed a final inspection on the truck at the manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania.

“The truck met all of our expectations except for the issue with the paint on the doors,” said Chief West.

He said the manufacturer of the doors will replace the them at no cost to the department.

Chief West said that the truck is currently at the dealer location in South Carolina and exceeded the pump test.

“We are very proud of it,” said Chief West.

He told those in attendance that the typical fire truck is painted with a red and white scheme. This truck will be red, gray and black. Engine 55 will carry the town seal for the town of Elizabethtown as well as the fire department’s logo. The front grill will have an American flag design.

“We wanted something unique to the region but would fit our needs,” said Chief West.

He said the new truck will help to lower the town’s insurance rating.

Chief West said that the staff at the fire department have been working to design the truck and create the final specifications since November 2014. He said Engine 55 will actually serve the purpose of two trucks in one.  Chief West said the vision was to be able to carry as much equipment as possible on the truck and as many personnel as possible.

Chief West said the design of Engine 55 makes maximum use of compartment space and to carry six personnel.

“I wanted to be as safe as possible for our personnel,” said Chief West.

He added that all of the equipment on the truck is located and the compartments are disjoined such that firefighters can reach everything they need, but yet don’t have to actually climb onto the truck to operate such things as pumps and attach hose nozzles.

The truck will have a total of 11 LED lights. The lights will be strategically located on all sides fo the truck. All of the functions of the truck can be controlled by computer.

Chief West every piece of equipment has a compartment and a space designed for it. This truck has everything Chief West and his firefighters could think of they would need to carry with them on a call.

The truck carries hoses, absorbent material, foam for firefighting, ladders, saws, tools, fans and rescue equipment including baskets, a backboard, and ladders. Everything Engine 55  is designed so the firefighters can easily reach the equipment they need without having to climb onto the truck itself.

Chief West said that new equipment such as hoses and saws has been purchased to outfit the new fire engine. Chief West said that way, the old truck can remain in service as well.

Chief West said that Elizabethtown Fire Department is due to be inspected by the ISO inspectors. It has been six years since the last ISO inspection.  Chief West said that equipment such as trucks are one component of the rating but adequate staffing is another. He said currently the department is staffed fairly well during the day with paid staffing and some volunteers and in the evenings the volunteers take calls.

The fire district rating in the town is currently a five and the fire district rating for the county is a six, said Chief West.

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