New ladder truck won’t fit in Ohio firehouse but management says it knew that before buying
When a citizen wanted to know why Lebanon, Ohio’s new $867,000 ladder truck was purchased even though it couldn’t fit inside either of the town’s fire stations, City Manager Pat Clements had answers ready.
The Pierce demo was bought quickly after Lebanon’s 1992 Seagrave broke down. Clements approved the emergency order in an effort to get a ladder truck back in service as soon as possible. While some fire departments have been caught by surprise that rigs they’ve purchased are too big for the firehouse, Clements told WLWT-TV’s Karin Johnson that was not the case here.
“We knew it was not going to fit into the station houses,” Clements said. “It would’ve been possible for the city to purchase a ladder truck that is of lower height that can fit in to the existing bays. However, those trucks are not configured in the manner that the fire department would like.”
“It was important for us to get the right piece of equipment and let the equipment drive the size of the bay, not the other way around,” Clements said.
Clements showed WLWT plans that were already in the works to add additional tall doors on the back of Station 41 to allow for a drive-through. Right now, trucks must be backed in.
Those renovations are now being expedited, and one front bay will be modified to fit the new truck.
