Archive for Tim Feichtner

Mariemont’s Fire Truck

Mariemont’s Fire Truck: An Awesome Piece of Equipment (I would encourage readers to read the comments by former Assistant Fire Chief Tim Feichtner)

New Mairemont Fire Truck BullThe new fire truck is a firefighter’s dream. This type of fire truck is called a ‘quint’ reflecting four capabilities that include an aerial ladder, pumping capabilities, a tank for water and storage of ground ladders and tools.

The span of the aerial ladder is 107 feet with a 750 pound tip load that easily accommodates the weight of both the firefighters and rescued victims. The truck has a 400 gallon water tank and can pump 1500 gallons of water per minute.

The vehicle accommodates six firefighters and a 1000 foot large diameter supply hose and many smaller hoses. Its state of the art toolbox includes the extricating ‘jaws of life’ that can cut through metal and other barriers to remove trapped accident victims.

What puzzles me is whether Mariemont really needs a $750,000 fire truck with a 107 foot ladder as opposed to a standard fire truck that costs roughly half as much when you already have fire departments with two ladder trucks within a radius of 3.2 miles. Additionally, virtually all dwellings within the Village of Mariemont are two stories and the few that are over two stories have sprinkler systems that meet code. Furthermore, due to the risks of collapse, firefighters no longer climb out onto roofs.

I know it is comforting to have a fire department with a superior ISO rating of 2, but is this really necessary? Most insurance companies do not base their rates on ISO ratings. Moreover,  Terrace Park residents feel quite safe with an all volunteer fire department (24 volunteers) that annually costs between $130,000 and $150,000 per year to maintain versus Mariemont’s cost of $821,187 in 2013 (exclusive of the $254,000 installment for the fire truck).

 

New Mariemont Fire Truck 2