Fire Department

Two new ladder trucks are hitting the streets of Madison, and they come with a new look and feel.

New Ladder 2 went into service in December, and new Ladder 6 rolled out the doors of Station 6 this week.

Both trucks are 2022 Pierce Enforcer 107-foot aerial ladders that showcase our sleek new graphic design. They have a single rear axle with a vehicle wheelbase of 243 inches and can reach a top speed of 65 miles per hour. The fire pump flows at up to 1500 gallons per minute. The gross vehicle weight rating is 56,300 lbs.

With these new trucks, we’re going greener! They’re shorter and lighter than our older 105-foot models, and they’re expected to burn less fuel. Additionally, both Ladder 2 and Ladder 6 come with a fully-integrated Idle Reduction Technology system.

You might notice these rigs have better emergency lighting, which should make them more visible when responding to calls. If you see it coming your way, remember to slow down and pull over so we can get to the call safely!

A HAAS Alert responder-to-vehicle collision avoidance system also lets us know when there are hazards ahead of us on the road.

Once we arrive on location, this truck provides better scene lighting than we had before, and that makes the scene safer for us. The setup time to deploy the aerial ladder is quicker than the previous model, which means we can begin our operations sooner after arriving at a fire call.

Ladder 2 responds to emergency calls on the west side from Fire Station 2 at 421 Grand Canyon Drive. Ladder 6 responds to calls on the south/southeast side from Fire Station 6 at 825 W. Badger Road. These upgrades to our fleet are made possible through the collaborative work of the Fire Fighters Local 311 Apparatus Committee & Madison Fire Department Administration.

View more photos on our Facebook page and on Instagram!
 

Photos provided by Roger Bjorge. Apparatus Engineer Robert Kuhl and Asst. Chief Scott Bavery contributed to this post.