
San Marcos is a city of about 70,000 that includes Texas State University with about 37,000 students. The city is situated on the edge of Texas hill country on its west side, split from the coastal plains on the east by Interstate-35. San Marcos Fire Department has 95 paid firefighters and commissioned staff operating out of six stations with four engines and two aerial quints.
When San Marcos decided to replace one of its quints, it chose to purchase a 105-foot tractor-drawn aerial (TDA) quint from Spartan ER-LTI. “The new truck is located at Station 5,” says John Koenig, San Marcos battalion chief. “In that area the streets are narrower and the buildings are taller, so it’s easier to get around with a TDA, which affords us more opportunity to set up on corners and increase our scrub area.”
Koenig says the truck committee examined three TDA brands and had the opportunity to drive two of them, before settling on the Spartan ER-LTI rig. “We chose Spartan ER-LTI because of the vehicle’s configuration, and because of our dealer, Metro Fire Apparatus out of Houston, which has given us very good service,” Koenig points out. “We also had direct contact with our dealer, Spartan ER, and their engineer, and found them all very easy to work with. They listened well and offered solutions for us. We’re very pleased with them and the process.”
Randy Hummer, Spartan ER aerial account manager, says the San Marcos TDA quint is powered by a 565-horsepower (hp) Cummins X 15 diesel engine, and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission with a retarder, and has an Advanced Occupant Protection system. The tractor’s front axle has an air ride independent front suspension with a 24,000-pound rating, the tractor’s drive axle has a Ridewell RAD 241 air ride with a 32,500-pound rating, and the tiller axle has a Ridewell air ride with a 23,000-pound rating. Tractor wheelbase is 189 inches, trailer wheelbase is 346 inches, overall length is 62 feet 3 inches, and overall height is 11 feet 9 inches.
Brian Cudaback, apparatus sales director for Metro Fire Apparatus Specialists, says the TDA quint has a Waterous CXSC 1,500-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump, a 300-gallon Pro-Poly water tank, two six-inch intakes, and one 2-1/2-inch intake. The rig has two 1-3/4-inch and one 2-1/2-inch dead lays, he notes, one 2-1-2-inch discharge on the left side, and one 3-inch and one 4-inch discharge on the right side. All piping is stainless steel.
Hummer notes that the aerial is a steel, four-section ladder with 105 feet of vertical reach and 100 feet of horizontal reach. “The TDA has two H-style outriggers with a 16-foot jack spread,” he says, “it’s elevation range is from minus-seven to plus-78 degrees, the wind rating is 50 miles an hour (mph), the tip load is 500 pounds dry, and 250 pounds wet, and the ladder walkway is illuminated by blue TecNiq LED lighting. There’s also a bolt-on stainless steel fly ladder egress with Clean Tip design.”
Koenig says the San Marcos TDA has a hose bed carrying 400 feet of 2-1/2-sinch hose and 400 feet of 3-inch hose. The 250 feet of ground ladders on the TDA include two 50-foot, three-section Alcolite extension ladders; Duo-Safety ladders consisting of one 35-foot, two-section extension; a 28-foot, two-section extension; 20-foot, 16-foot, and 14-foot roof ladders; and a 10-foot folding ladder, plus a 17-foot Little Giant Defender ladder.
The TDA has a formed aluminum modular body with compartments covered by ROM roll-up doors, and a high-visibility tiller cab design. The rig carries a 10-kilowatt Harrison hydraulic generator, has a Safety Vision camera system, a Whelen LED warning light package, and Whelen LED scene lighting.
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.