Video: How a Fire Ladder Truck Works
Cranford fire department explain how the truck that responded to Ferraro's fire works.
During the six-alarm fire which gutted Ferraro's two weeks ago, the ladder truck from the Cranford Fire Department played a role in battling the flames. The first ladder truck on the scene, the truck was positioned on Elm Street directly in front of the center of the flames.
The issue of Cranford's ladder truck being the first to respond has caused a debate in Westfield over manpower issues in the fire department. FMBA officials have said that the town cannot use the truck due to a decision to have six-man duty crews on call at the department, with a minimum of seven firefighters needed to use the ladder truck and the department's rwo engines.
Cranford Patch Editor Michelle Walbaum spoke with Cranford firefighters on Sunday giving her a tour of the truck.
Check out the video.
NR9
12:28 pm on Wednesday, May 18, 2011
This is the guy (or, rather, his Westfield counterpart) who we need to consult with as to the adequacy of our fire dept. staffing. And, not just him, but rather, at least a half dozen to a dozen Westfield firefighters. These are the guys out there in the trenches who know better as to what's really needed in the field and how frequently (or not) they feel they are riding up to the scene of a fire and know full well whether or not they are adequately staffed. If several of these guys tell me that 6 is fine, I'll believe it. If they tell me 9 is what we need, I'll believe it. Sure, there is an off chance that one or two want to pad the roster a bit but, I'd be willing to take that chance - worst case scenario, we hire more and are slightly overstaffed and each guy gets to spend an 30 minutes a month watching TV in the fire house - really, not that big of a deal. We should listen to our fire fighters' opinions with the respect they deserve of us.
Denis
8:42 am on Sunday, May 22, 2011
I want to personally thank the Cranford Fire Department and all other responders to the Ferraro's fire.