The Aiken Department of Public Safety is purchasing a new ladder truck to replace one of the two the department currently has in service – the cost is over $1 million.
On March 7, four members of the department, including Chief Charles Barranco, traveled to Appleton, Wisconsin, for a preconstruction meeting at the Pierce apparatus manufacturing plant.
The group went over the specs of the new truck, a 2022 Pierce aerial truck with a 107 foot ascendant ladder on an enforcer cab.
The new truck will replace the department’s Ladder 4 truck, a 1996 Pierce that runs out of Station Two on the Southside. The older ladder truck will still run as a reserve vehicle.
“Pierce manufacturing is always looking for safety improvements for the operators of any of their apparatus,” said Capt. Brian Brazier, who attended the meeting in Wisconsin this week. “We have a lot of Pierce fire trucks – they are a very good manufacturer and the safety features of this truck are definitely an improvement of the 1996.”
Public safety said its current plans show the department keeps a ladder truck in service for about 20 years.
“This truck will serve the citizens of Aiken that we offer fire protection to for several years,” Brazier said. “It is a big investment for the city, but with cooperation through our council and capital project sales tax funding, we are able to purchase this new truck and hopefully it’ll be in the fleet for a minimum of 20 years.”
The order was placed in July 2021 during the current budget year, and the truck is expected to be delivered in October.
“It only actually takes about 10 weeks to build the actual truck, but it’s a big process to get all the parts together – they build it from the tires up,” Brazier said.
