TX Department Can Buy New Ladder Apparatus

Cleburne City Council members during their Tuesday meeting authorized purchase of a new ladder truck for the Cleburne Fire Department. The truck doesn’t come cheap nor will it arrive anytime soon.

Council members approved purchase of the Spartan truck from Metro Fire Apparatus Specialists Inc. at a cost not to exceed $1,326,000. Council also approved purchase of radio equipment for the truck at a cost not to exceed $9,000.

The city, Fire Chief Scott Lail said, should expect delivery of the new truck in about 14 months.

The new truck, though expensive, is desperately needed, Lail said.

“The fire department’s current aerial fire apparatus is over 23 years old,” Lail said. “Which far exceeds the recommended service life of 15 years as a front-line unit.”

Maintenance issues have increased over the years, Lail said, compounded by the fact that certain parts are no longer manufactured. The department’s current truck remained out of service for three months last year until replacement parts could be found, he said.

The new truck comes with a longer ladder, Lail said, increasing firefighters’ ability to reach taller structures.

“It can also drop down, which means we can employ it for water rescues,” Lail said. “It has the ability to pump 1,500 gallons of water per minute, which can be operated by remote control by a firefighter on the ground controlling where the water goes.”

Council members previously budgeted $1,335,000 for the truck.

“Just so everyone knows, money has been set aside in the budget for years until we got to the point where we could buy this much-needed new piece of equipment,” Mayor Scott Cain said.

That the cost of the truck came in lower than budgeted allowed for the purchase of additional, albeit necessary, radio equipment, Lail said.

Lail assured Cain that a Cleburne Yellow Jacket will be painted on the truck once it arrives.

Acquiring the truck will also ensure that the city maintains its low fire insurance rating classification, Lail said.

“With an ISO Class 2 rating we’re already about as low as you can get,” Lail said. “So this will help us maintain those same rates and will have no negative impact on insurance rates.”

The department’s current ladder truck will likely be sold, Lail said, although that remains to be determined.

The best part, Lail said, is that once the new truck arrives it’s good to go with no additions or alterations needed.

“All we have to do is load firefighters on it and it’s ready to go to work,” Lail said.

Trabajo bien hecho

Cleburne Human Resources Director Debra Powledge presented the city’s All Star Award to Maria Herrada. Herrada, who previously worked at the Cleburne Police Department, now works for the city’s cemetery department.

The All Star Award goes to employees who go above and beyond duty’s call.

Powledge said Herrada received the award thanks to her willingness to serve as a translator at a moment’s notice for any city department or employee in need of such services.

Herrada has been with the city for 15 years.

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