Niles Mayor Andrew Przybylo and other village and fire department personal officially welcomed a new fire truck to the village of Niles.
During the ceremony, which took place on March 26 at 9 a.m., firefighters drove the new firetruck in front of the Village Hall. The vehicle includes a number of new features – most notably, a basket-like platform at the tip of the ladder. The mayor and Village Manager Steve Vinezeano got a chance to see that particular feature first-hand as they climbed onto the platform and took it to the Village Hall roof.
The Niles Fire Department has been field-testing the vehicle for the past few months, and it recently entered service. Robert Greiner, NFD’s District Supervisor, told Niles Herald-Spectator that the new truck has already proven to be useful – and that the department expects that it would continue to be a great addition to the fleet.
The fire department acquired the vehicle last year. According to the village, it was built by the Appleton, Wisconsin based Pierce Manufacturing. The vehicle as eight feet wide and the ladder can extend for up to 11 feet and four inches, making it the largest firetruck in NFD’s fleet.
In a first for the department, the firetruck’s ladder features a basket-like platform that can lift up to 500 lbs. Firefighters refer to the firefighting vehicles that has this type of ladders as “towers.” When the ladder is used, four support “legs” extend out, anchoring the vehicle and helping to keep it stable. Firefighters can control the ladder while they are in the basket, which is expected to help them use water against fires more effectively.
Greiner explained that the big advantage of the basket is that it can carry fire-fighting equipment – something that came in handy when the firetruck was recently used to put out a fire in Morton Grove.
“It was a good thing that we got it,” he said. “It worked really well.”
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The firetruck has several other new features, including a dual screen command information center, more spacious cab passenger sitting and improved LED lighting.
According to the village press release, the firetruck cost $1.1 million, and it has a life expectancy of 20 years.
The department has been training with the truck for the past few months. Greiner said that, because of its size, learning how to maneuver it was a bit of a learning curve.
“It is a lot of truck,” he said. “It is a challenge to drive it around. You need to think of where you’d want it to be.”
The Thursday ceremony was relatively low-key. Aside from Przybylo, Vinezeano and Greiner, Niles Fire Department Chief Steve Borkowski, Interim Niles Police Department Chief Dennis McEnerney and Niles Department of Public Services Director Mary Anderson attended, as did a number of police officers and firefighters.
Przybylo and Vinezeano posed for pictures with other officials. They were then strapped into the safety harnesses and led onto the basket, which took them up the roof.
Once he stepped off the basket, Przybylo said he was impressed with the new vehicle.
“Well, that was fun,” he addressed the firefighters. “Good luck with this, guys. Beautiful purchase. And be safe!”
In an official statement, Borkowski touted the firetruck as a great tool.
“Being able to have a new tower ladder like this is vital to our operations and allows us keep up with the newest lifesaving technology,” he said. “It is another tool that will help our talented firefighters do the best job possible and keep our residents safe.”
Greiner told Niles Herald-Spectator that he expects the new vehicle to serve the department well in the future.
“It would really help us with window rescues,” he said. “It’s very safe, very secure. That’s what it’s all about.”
Igor Studenkov is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.