Ladder fire trucks boost safety for firefighters, citizens alike

Hamilton County raised the safety bar not once but twice last week with the addition of two ladder trucks to the Aurora and Giltner fire departments.
Last week’s news that the 65-foot rig in Aurora would be transferred to Giltner while Aurora gets a “new” 100-foot ladder truck adds a valuable tool to both arsenals. It also speaks well of the cooperation and communication established long ago amongst area rural fire departments. 
Looking into the numbers of this two-sided upgrade, it seems almost too good to be true. Thanks to a Federal Excess Personal Property program coordinated through the Nebraska and U.S. Forest Services, Aurora now has a newer unit with 35 extra ladder feet of vertical reach for just $4,500, while Giltner added a 65-foot ladder truck to its fleet for a grand total of $525. 
Both departments have either new or expanded fire barn facilities, so the addition of “new” equipment at the ready sends a positive safety message to both citizens and firefighters alike. Neither rural department could have afforded the price tag of new equipment with that capacity, so the used equipment is a very good fit, for a great price.
As for the need factor, anyone who wonders if there is truly a need for ladder trucks in rural Nebraska need only think back to July 10, 2008. When the Fidelity Building was billowing black smoke with stunned citizens looking on, the reality is that the entire north side of the downtown square was in danger of burning to the ground. Instead, ladder trucks from Grand Island provided a higher vantage point to fight the fire from above, which made all the difference.
We don’t have an abundance of high-profile buildings like that grand old Fidelity Building in Hamilton County, but there are a lot of three-story houses, grain bins and taller structures that would test the limits of fighting fires from ground level. Both fire chiefs say the higher vantage point could be a huge safety factor for firefighters in certain situations as well, which is priceless to those men and women who put their lives on the line every time they answer the call.
No doubt about it, this was the textbook definition of a “win-win deal.”
-- Kurt Johnson