New truck for fire staff

By the end of April, Costa Mesa firefighters should have a tiller truck for the first time in nearly a decade, they said Thursday.

The 58-foot-long rig with a 100-foot ladder costs about $980,000, and should be ready to use by the end of May, said Fire Department Engineer Brent Turner.

“Overall, for the city and the firefighters we’re able to reach more buildings and higher up on the taller buildings for rescues,” Turner said.

The Fire Department had a tiller truck nine years ago, but that was retired and sold, and the department picked up an Urban Search and Rescue vehicle to replace it.

For a time the department’s fleet was the search-and-rescue truck and two clints, or multipurpose vehicles that carry water and a water pump, and an engine, which has a ladder for rescues, Turner said.

The clints, each with a 95-foot ladder and platform, were getting old.

“Both platforms were 20 years old. It was costing more money to keep them in service,” Turner said.

One got decommissioned and replaced, and the other was deemed unsafe after cracks were found in the ladder.

Enter the new tiller truck, which Turner said can facilitate rescues from seven- to eight-story buildings. It’s replacing the unsafe clint, which has been out of commission for some time.

A 100-foot ladder offers a litany of benefits for the community, Turner said. The higher rescues are especially important, with buildings like Bethel Towers on 19th Street, he said. The senior citizen facility is 19 stories high, allows residents to smoke, and does not have a sprinkler system, he said.

The truck also upgrades the city’s rating with insurance companies, giving residents a break on fire insurance.

Turner added that with Costa Mesa’s budget woes, among other cities in the state, Costa Mesa had to get creative with financing. Instead of paying the truck manufacturer all at once, the payments are spread over six years.

The first year of payments will be interest only, while the rest of the money is deposited into a bank account and accumulates interest. Over the next five years, the city will pay off the truck, which will save the city money in the long run, Turner said.

Department officials will fly to Wisconsin to inspect the vehicle in two weeks, he said.