Quint truck proves its value just months into service

Feb. 18, 2016 | Chris Goudreau
cgoudreau@thereminder.com

Firefighters Mike Nothe (left) and Jason Mele (right) said they believe the Quint truck has greatly enhanced the abilities of the Fire Department since it began utilizing the Quint in August 2015.
Reminder Publications photo by Chris Goudreau

LONGMEADOW – The Fire Department’s new $750,000 Quint fire truck has exceeded the expectations of town officials since the department began utilizing it in August 2015.

Town Manager Stephen Crane told Reminder Publications one of the greatest abilities the 78-foot Quint ladder truck gives the department is to put out fires from above with speed and efficiency.

“The positive side of the unfortunate calls we’ve had is that all of the things that we thought we were going to get with the Quint – how we sold it essentially – have turned out to be true and more,” he added. “You got what you paid for and then some.”

A citizen’s petition article to fund the Quint truck appeared on the Nov. 18 Special Town Meeting warrant and was approved by a majority of residents.

Firefighter and Paramedic Mike Nothe said the Quint has more benefits than a regular ladder truck.

“We’re able to get into a lot more tight spaces in town – small driveways,” he explained.

Firefighter and Paramedic Jason Mele said the size of the Quint is a “perfect fit” for Longmeadow.

“There’s a lot of smaller streets in town where trying to maneuver a full-size ladder truck through would be close to impossible, if not impossible,” he added. “Before we had the Quint, we had to rely on mutual aid. Both of our mutual aid ladder trucks would have had a harder time negotiating, particularly the fire on Elmwood [Avenue].”

The new Quint truck, which features a permanently mounted ladder pump that has a flow capacity of 500 to 1,000 gallons of water per minute, replaced a more than 25-year-old fire engine that was sold to a government surplus website for $6,800.

Mele said a fire broke out in a vehicle located in the driveway of a home on Elmwood Avenue in October 2015.

“It spread to the side of the house pretty quickly,” he explained. “When we got there, the house was well involved with fire and having the ability to have the Quint at that call and both run it as a pumper and a ladder truck really saved that house and the neighbor’s house.”

He said the residents of the Elmwood Avenue fire escaped their home shortly after it started.

Crane said without the use of the Quint truck, the neighboring house would have likely caught fire as well.

“It got so hot that it melted the taillights of the other car in the driveway,” he noted.

Fire Chief John Dearborn said the fire caused approximately $10,000 in damage to the second house. If the flames had not been quelled, it could have cost at least $100,000.

Mele said ground ladders “still have their place,” but using the aerial ladder is safer and more efficient.

“At the Elmwood fire, they had to get onto this burned out roof to pull a bunch of the shingles off,” Dearborn said. “Normally, before we had a [Quint truck] they’d be up on ground ladders with very little support. [Nothe and Mele] were up on the aerial ladder hanging over the roof completely safe, buckled in with their belts on.”

He continued, “If something would have collapsed below them [using ground ladders], they would have been in harm’s way. From my perspective, it makes my guys’ job a lot safer.”

Mele said last month the department responded to a fire on Longmeadow Street and the Quint truck was the perfect tool to extinguish the flames.

“We were able to back the truck up into the driveway [and] spread the jacks out on the driveway,” he explained. “A larger truck never would have been able to do that.”  

Nothe said firefighters have spent numerous hours learning how to use the Quint, but also pre-planning for fires at key locations in town such as the Jewish Nursing Home and schools throughout the community.

“We know where we can get the ladder truck into,” he noted. “We know from where we park it what parts of the roof we can hit … We can pull up and see what we got. Do we need to use it as a ladder truck? Do we need to use it as a pumper? Do we need to use it as both? We have that flexibility.”

Nothe said operating the Quint is “like a big video game.”

He added, “There’s three joysticks up there – raise, rotate, and extend. It does take a little getting used to; the depth perception, but what we do is if manpower allows we’ll have a guy on the ground spotting the tip of the ladder.”

Dearborn said the department has yet to rescue someone from a fire while utilizing the Quint, but “it’s only a matter of time.”

Share this: