Americus (PA) Hose Company is one of six fire companies that make up the Sunbury (PA) Fire Department. The only fire apparatus that the 15-volunteer firefighters of the Americus Hose have is a truck company, but the company also houses the city’s only paid ambulance service.
Robert Hare, director of operations for Americus Hose, says while the hose company was incorporated in 1893, this year is the 250th anniversary of the city of Sunbury. “We wanted to purchase a new aerial in our 250th year, so we approached E-ONE in 2022 about a demo unit they had on the production line, and were able to make some lighting and cosmetic changes to the unit and get it for our anniversary year,” Hare points out. “We staff two stations with the truck and five ambulances, of which two are ALS (advanced life support) units staffed by paid paramedics and EMTs.”
Mike Jamison, sales manager for Fire Line Equipment, who sold the quint to Americus, says the fire company replaced a 1999 American LaFrance LTI 100-foot aerial platform with an E-ONE 95-foot aerial platform quint built on a Typhoon chassis and medium cab with seating for eight firefighters, six in USSC Valor SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) seats. He adds that the rig is powered by a 500-horsepower (hp) Cummins X12 diesel engine, and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission.
David Perkins, director of aerial sales for REV Fire Group, says the E-ONE aerial platform quint carries a Hale QMax 2,000-gallon per minute (gpm) pump, a 300-gallon UPF Poly® T-type water tank, two 1-3/4-inch cross lays, one 2-1/2-inch cross lay, and a front bumper discharge with 1-3/4-inch hose preconnected. He notes that the quint has 500 feet of five-inch LDH (large diameter hose), and 300 feet of three-inch double jacketed hose in a Sidestacker hose bed.
The wheelbase on the aerial platform quint is 245 inches, overall length is 46-feet one inch, and overall height is 11 feet 10 inches. Perkins points out that the aerial’s platform has a 750-pound tip load wet and 500 pounds dry, plus an Akron Brass StreamMaster II monitor with a 1,250-gpm fob/solid bore nozzle, a hose box on the side of the platform, lifting eyes at the bucket and at the base section of the aerial, and a saw box on the driver’s side of the base section.
The rig carries a two-section 35-foot extension ladder, a two-section 28-foot extension ladder, a two section 24-foot extension ladder, a 20-foot roof ladder, a 16-foot roof ladder, and a 10-foot folding ladder in a ladder tunnel, and a 14-foot roof ladder on the aerial.
Perkins adds that the Americus truck has a Harrison 10-kW generator, Whelen LED warning lights, a Hi Viz Fire Tech LED brow light, and Hi Viz Fire Tech LED scene lights.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Ariz.-based journalist, the author of three novels and five non-fiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment editorial advisory board. He served 22 years with Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including the position of chief.
