County Starts Loan Process For New Valley Fire Truck

How much difference does 25 feet make?

It depends who you ask.

Spokane Valley Fire Chief Pat Humphries asked Valley Fire commissioners on Tuesday to approve money for a loan to purchase a 75-foot ladder truck, which also hauls water.

Firefighters want a truck with a 100-foot ladder.

Fire commissioners didn’t decide which truck to purchase Tuesday but they did approve going forward with the loan process to finance the $534,000-plus purchase.

Originally, Valley Fire had planned on waiting until 2001 to buy the new truck, but decided to order it a year earlier because it will take 13 months to arrive, Humphries said.

Firefighters who attended the meeting asked commissioners to consider buying a taller aerial ladder than Humphries had requested. An extra 25 feet allows firefighters better access to the roofs of multi-story buildings, they said.

“We need 100 feet (of ladder). With 75 feet, we just don’t have the reach,” said firefighter John Leavell.

During a four-alarm fire at Harbor Freight Tools in December, Valley Fire called on the city fire department’s 110-foot pumper-ladder truck to help fight the blaze from the back side of the building.

The longer ladder stretched over power lines and got firefighters close enough to battle flames from overhead.

Valley Fire has one 65-foot pumper-ladder truck in use. In reserve it has a 1972 Seagrave 100-ft. aerial ladder truck.

Humphries assured commissioners that a 75-foot ladder would reach most buildings in the Valley.

Firefighter Kelly Cochran disagreed, saying that apartment complexes were getting bigger, taller and harder to reach.

A 75-foot ladder should be able to reach the top of a five-story building if it can get close enough.

But many apartment buildings have garages or car parking in front which limit truck access.

One good example is the four-story Orchard Crest retirement community under construction at Fourth and Evergreen.

It has a front entry area that would force fire engines to park further away, making a longer ladder more effective.

Humphries said it all comes down to weight.

The state Department of Transportation limits fully loaded fire trucks to 24,000 pounds for a single axle or 43,000 pounds total weight for tandem axles.

The Washington state has one of the strictest weight restrictions in the country for fire vehicles, said Barry Diseth, administrator for the state Department of Transportation office which handles weight restrictions.

“Lots of states allow much heavier firefighter appliances than we do. For the most part states have less of an infrastructure problem than we do and less bridges,” Diseth said.

Some fire districts around the state ignore the law. That makes them liable in case of damage to a bridge or in case of an accident, Humphries said.

Valley Fire Commissioner Tom Gregory said it was important to buy a truck that was in the legal limits.

“I don’t want you people on a piece of equipment that’s not legal,” he said.

Gregory suggested that maybe the state law was too strict and needed to be changed.

“There’s a reason for our strictness,” said Diseth.

The restrictions came after an evaluation of state roads - especially bridges - and what kind of weight they could handle, Diseth said.

“It’s not a number that somebody has pulled out of the air.”

Diseth said the DOT has offered to analyze individual bridges to see if exceptions could be made. No one has taken the DOT up on the offer. Fire departments have decided to ignore the law altogether or to stay within the restrictions, Diseth said.

Valley Fire still hasn’t made a final decision on what fire truck to purchase. Administrators plan to form a committee, which will include firefighters, to further discuss the options.