The Santa Maria Fire Department is showing its new tractor-drawn aerial ladder truck in action.
Some cool facts about the 62-foot long vehicle:
It can pump 1500 gallons of water per minute onto a fire.
It holds 300 gallons of water.
It also turns 81 degrees with a two-man steering system.
The truck will be used by fire station no.1 on West Cook Street.
Another thing to add is the new truck will only take two minutes to set up while at a fire, instead of four minutes like the old truck, so it’s more efficient.
It can also drive through tighter access areas and will serve our tall buildings. It will respond to all structure fire incidents.
A grant paid for the majority of this approximately $1.5M vehicle. It took two years to get it.
"The community should be proud of the truck of the process in which we got it and the service it’s going to provide the community," said Chief Leonard Champion of the Santa Maria Fire Department.
It replaces the department’s worn 1999-era aerial ladder truck that was prone to mechanical problems. Crews have been drive-testing the vehicle around town the past couple weeks to ensure its proper operation.
Once all the firefighters are trained on the new truck, the old one will be retired.
