WALTHAM, MA — City firefighters officially began using a new aerial ladder truck Friday, after completing a month of testing and training with the vehicle.
Designated as Ladder 2, the apparatus now operates out of the fire station at 533 Moody St. and will serve much of Waltham’s South Side, according to a public notice.
The ladder vehicle replaces a 19-year-old one that will become a back-up for the Waltham Fire Department.
The city ordered the replacement in 2024. The two-year lead time isn’t unusual.
New engines are customized to the needs of individual departments, and come from only a handful of manufacturers. The typical wait time is three to five years, according to a trade publication, Firefighter Now.
“A new fire engine,” the magazine said in March, “isn’t a line item on a department budget; it’s a capital purchase that can reshape municipal finances, require multiyear planning, and increasingly, involve wait times that stretch the patience of even well-funded departments.”
A new aerial ladder vehicle, like Waltham’s, usually costs between $1.2 million and $1.8 million, according to the publication. The city hasn’t disclosed what it paid for Ladder 2.
It’s a “Typhoon” chassis made and customized by Florida-based E-One, and features a 100-foot aerial ladder and nearly a dozen ground ladders of different types and lengths.
The WFD has been updating its fleet, and in November took delivery of two other vehicles, Engine 2 and Engine 4.
The department, which began more than two centuries ago, employs roughly 160 people.
See Also:
Waltham Firefighters Knock Down 2-Alarm Blaze: More Info
3 People Injured, 8 Displaced By Waltham Fire On Sunday
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