It's got all the bells and whistles - and sirens, and flashing lights, as well.
Humboldt's newest fire truck was delivered to the fire hall last week - and it's a big one.
The 2011 Rosenbauer pumper/ladder truck purchased from Rocky Mountain Phoenix in Red Deer for $581,000, is so tall and wide, it made it into its bay in the Humboldt Fire Hall on February 2 with just inches to spare.
This truck, with its 78-foot ladder, replaces the department's old 1977 International ladder truck and its 100-foot ladder, explained Humboldt Fire Chief Norbert LeBlanc.
It also replaces their 1987 Ford pumper truck.
"It's called a quint - it's a combination of two trucks together," LeBlanc explained.
Both old ladder and pumper trucks have served the community well, LeBlanc noted. The 1977 ladder truck was purchased from Markham, Ontario in 1992. About $40,000 was spent on the truck, between its purchase and rebuilding parts of it, and it was in use for 20 years.
"The truck doesn't owe us nothing," LeBlanc smiled.
They were able to drop from a 100-foot ladder down to a 78-foot because of some changes that have gone on in the community in the past few years. The grain elevators are now gone, so there's nothing in the city over five storeys tall, LeBlanc explained. That means the shorter ladder will work for any fires or rescues from the city's tallest buildings.
Since the City of Humboldt purchased this truck, it likely won't leave town for any calls, LeBlanc explained.
"It could go, but there are no agreements (with surrounding municipalities) in place with this new truck."
With the 1977 International ladder truck sold for $3,100, when the 1987 pumper truck is sold as well, every emergency vehicle in the fire hall will have been replaced in the past 10 years.
All the trucks - the pumper truck, water tanker, rescue unit, and now the new ladder-pumper - carry water and have pumps, so all are capable of fighting fires.
The new truck, which weighs 24,000 kilograms when it's empty of water, carries 400 gallons of water and can pump 1,500 gallons per minute - the fastest of any of the trucks in the hall, which range from 500 gallons per minute to 1,050.
The new truck also has a generator on it to run all of its lights, and has electrical outlets around it, so various tools and lights needed at the scene of an emergency can be plugged in and run without starting up another generator.
The truck is very wide, LeBlanc agreed, but the wheel-base is such that it has a short turn radius for such a wide truck, so it will still be able to make turns down back alleys in the city
The truck will hold a driver and five more firefighters outfitted with airpacks, and has a lot of other special features, like an easy-loading hose bed - it actually moves from the top of the truck to the ground, so firefighters no longer have to haul hoses up onto the truck - which will make their jobs a lot easier.
Every compartment has lights that turn on when the door to it is opened, and there are specially designed compartments for air packs, and extra air bottles.
The ladder is piped with a hose and a nozzle at the end of it, unlike the old truck, so it can be used as both a water tower or for rescues.
The ladder itself is pretty impressive, when all of its features are explained. It's called a smart ladder, LeBlanc said, and it not only has an automatic bedding feature when they go to put it away, it is controlled by what they're calling an "intuitive joystick," and has hydraulics that make it move very smoothly.
"So even if you let go of the controls, it will come to a smooth stop," LeBlanc said.
The ladder also has sensors which will stop it before it hits a building, or keeps it from moving when it's overloaded and could possibly put the truck in danger.
"There are lots of built-in safety features," LeBlanc said, including one that will show the driver if anyone in any of the seats is not wearing a seatbelt.
Their old truck was a very complicated one to run - it took a lot of training to use, and was hard to drive. It also could carry just two firefighters.
The new truck, though it looks a little more complicated, has features that make its operation very easy in comparison.
Though the truck has arrived in Humboldt, it is not yet in service. Trainers from the manufacturing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota will be coming out in February to teach the firefighters exactly how to use it.
"The truck will be in service after that," LeBlanc promised. "We want to make sure everyone understands how to use it."
Until then, it will be the third truck they pull out of the hall; afterwards, if they are going to a call in Humboldt, it will be the first.
Their old ladder truck was used to fight a couple of fires, LeBlanc said. This new truck is one they hope to never have to use.
"But if we need to, we have it. That's the big thing," LeBlanc said.
