Warren Fire Department gets new rig

WARREN — If you have seen a bright, shiny red truck with black overlay maneuvering with authority through the streets of Warren as it quickly gets to its destination, you may have seen the Warren Fire Department’s new 2022 Rosenbauer Commander fire engine.

This is a brand-new fire engine even though it is a 2022 model.

“It is an 18-month build time from the time you order it,” said Warren Fire Commission Wilburt “Skip” McAdams.  “Construction (of the vehicle) started in 2022 and it is all based on whenever the chassis was built.”   

The Fire Department took delivery less than a month ago, according to McAdams.

“It will be replacing a fire engine that was purchased in 2014 and has reached the end of its useful life as a front-line apparatus,” he said.

Although there are no regulations as to when to replace a fire truck, McAdams knows when it is time to update the fleet.

“We just know from the way we use our fire trucks that after 10 years of service as a front-line apparatus the reliability starts to decrease and then we put it into a reserve status for the rest of its career,” said McAdams.

The reserve fleet is used when front-line trucks are getting standard maintenance or being serviced for emergency repairs.

According to McAdams, the features on the fire engine have remained the same throughout the years.

“We buy a standard set of features that really hasn’t changed in about 10 years, other than the color concept,” McAdams said. “The new color concept is the black overlay.”

This Rosenbauer Commander came with a $734,678 price tag, according to the commissioner.

The new truck is slightly bigger than the one it’s replacing.  It is equipped to seat six firefighters. Other features include a Cummins diesel engine and a 1,500-gallon-per-minute Hale pump.  This fire engine has a 500-gallon water tank and 30-gallon foam tank. It also has a top mount deck gun.

“This is used for fires that are fully involved and you want to make a knock down with a lot of water immediately and we are going to go defensive on it,” McAdams said.

A fire is fully involved when fire and smoke are seen coming from every part of the structure, said McAdams.

According to the commissioner, an engine-type fire apparatus doesn’t have an aerial ladder; it carries a 35-foot extension ladder and a 20-foot straight ladder.  There is a difference between a ladder truck and a fire engine.

“There are two kinds of ladder trucks: one is a platform, that means it has a bucket on it, and a straight means there is no bucket at the end of the ladder,” said McAdams.

The engine has three cross lays used to make quick attacks on fires.  The cross lays of fire hose include 150 feet of 1 3/4-inch hose, 200 feet of 1 3/4-inch hose and 200 feet of 2 1/2-inch hose. Carrying 1,000 feet of 5-inch supply line and 1,000 feet of 3-inch supply line, this engine has a host of other equipment including a positive pressure fan, portable scene lights, extrication tools and firefighting tools, including pike poles of various lengths, axes and forcible entry equipment and tools.

According to McAdams, this engine is licensed as a nontransporting advanced life support (ALS) fire engine that is equipped with a wide range of medical equipment and supplies including a monitor defibrillator, drug box and airway management equipment.