Chief: New Truck is 'Once-in-a-Lifetime' Deal

Canonsburg Fire Chief Tim Solobay said the department's new aerial tower is "impressive"—but more than that, it was a "once-in-a-lifetime deal."

Solobay said the has had an aerial device since 1960, and the 15-year-old truck it had been using was in such good shape that a nearby crew asked to buy it.

"We got almost our purchase price out of it," he said. "It made buying the new one an easy decision. Now we have a truck that is 15 years newer, with all the technology and added safety features."

For one thing, he said it helps firefighters be more efficient.

The old truck had a straight ladder that volunteers had to physically climb with fire hoses. Now there is a bucket that can transport firefighters 100-feet up. The new tower is also outfitted with a larger light generator and a foam system, which Solobay said is an effective means of fighting fires without the mess water can create.

"It minimizes the headaches you get from using water," he said.

And when it comes to petroluem or gasoline-sparked fires, foam is the preferred method of extinguishment.

He said the size of the bucket is almost a safety feature in itself, allowing more firemen to be involved in highrise work.

"Having another set of hands when you're 100 feet up always helps," Solobay said.

He said the department has been "training extensively" on the device, and that it's been out on two different calls since it arrived in August.

Currently, five firefighters on Canonsburg FVD's roster are certified to drive the truck, with another five currently going through the certification process.

And he hopes the acquisition of this new piece of equipment will help with an ongoing problem in Canonsburg's VFD—as well as others across the Commonwealth.

"We continue to have a recruitment issue," Solobay said. "Anything we can do to make a firefighter's job easier for them, we do. We try to make things more effecient and we try to make things more safe. It's very strenuous and very hard."

After all, he said it takes a "special breed" of person to serve as a firefighter.

"You know the old saying, 'When everyone else is running out, we're the ones who are running in,'" Solobay said.

Of all his achievements during his four-year tenure as chief, he said the purchase of Tower 69 might be his proudest.

And although today is his last at the helm of the department, he isn't going far.

Solobay said his job as a state senator often has him out of the area, and so he decided to resign his position as chief. New Chief Tom Lawrence will be sworn in tonight.

But just because he isn't the chief, that doesn't mean he is going to "fade away."

Solobay will now serve as first assistant chief.

"I will still be around to aid and help Tommy," he said.

And he said he knows Lawrence will be an effective chief—and looks forward to continue to work with him fighting fires.

"We can almost read each other's minds," he said of their working relationship. "Sometimes we wouldn't need to talk, we'd just look at each other and know what the other was thinking. We kind of have that bond. We grew up through the ranks together."