Wheaton Fire adds ladder truck to fleet
Wheaton Fire Protection District added a new vehicle, a 75 foot ladder truck, to its fleet after purchasing it from the Neosho Fire Department. The ladder truck marks the first for Wheaton and brings the department’s fleet up to seven vehicles.
November 20, 2019
Charlea Estes-Jones
The Wheaton Fire Protection District unveiled an exciting new feature at the fire house: a ladder truck. Fire chief Lindy Lombard said he is excited about the new-to-Wheaton purchase and what it means for the community.
Lombard said, "On Main Street, a lot of our older buildings are two-story. Being able to get up above them in case of a fire is really important."
Wheaton Fire acquired the truck from the Neosho Fire Department. The purchase came through general funds with the cost partially offset by selling another. The ladder truck has a 75-foot ladder and will join a fleet of six other vehicles in use by the district. Wheaton's other vehicles include one fire engine truck, one rescue vehicle, two tanker trucks and two brush trucks.
Lombard said the new ladder truck will make extinguishing fires in multi-story homes much more effective. He said, "We have the older buildings on Main Street that are two stories, and this will also help us in protection of apartments. We have three sets of apartments in Wheaton now with one of those two story, but being able to be above the fire line would help tremendously, even in the single level apartments. We'll be able to properly get to those, as well as the older homes all over the area that are two-story."
Lombard said it'll be about a month before the ladder truck will officially be put into service, but volunteers and community members are excited about the prospective of better service thanks to the new truck. He said, "It is a big deal for us. It's not going to be put in service until the lettering is changed and the volunteers are trained on it, though. It'll be about a month before we put it on service."
Lombard added the ladder truck will be helpful to other departments in the surrounding area, as well, since Wheaton regularly goes on mutual aid calls. He said, "The thing we are looking at, too, is with Fairview, Stella and Butterfield, we cover grounds with them all around through mutual aid. A lot of structures in those communities are two-story. This will help more than just our residents."
The truck was brought to the main fire station in Wheaton on Wednesday, November 13, and the district announced the acquisition to its residents on Facebook.
The Wheaton Fire Protection District is funded by a property tax levy voted in by residents in 2013. They are run by 18 volunteers and serve a protection district of approximately 75 square miles with 2,500 residents. Last year, Wheaton Fire Protection District went on approximately 350 calls for service, which has been a steady upward trend over the years.
Charlea Estes-Jones
The Wheaton Fire Protection District unveiled an exciting new feature at the fire house: a ladder truck. Fire chief Lindy Lombard said he is excited about the new-to-Wheaton purchase and what it means for the community.
Lombard said, "On Main Street, a lot of our older buildings are two-story. Being able to get up above them in case of a fire is really important."
Wheaton Fire acquired the truck from the Neosho Fire Department. The purchase came through general funds with the cost partially offset by selling another. The ladder truck has a 75-foot ladder and will join a fleet of six other vehicles in use by the district. Wheaton's other vehicles include one fire engine truck, one rescue vehicle, two tanker trucks and two brush trucks.
Lombard said the new ladder truck will make extinguishing fires in multi-story homes much more effective. He said, "We have the older buildings on Main Street that are two stories, and this will also help us in protection of apartments. We have three sets of apartments in Wheaton now with one of those two story, but being able to be above the fire line would help tremendously, even in the single level apartments. We'll be able to properly get to those, as well as the older homes all over the area that are two-story."
Lombard said it'll be about a month before the ladder truck will officially be put into service, but volunteers and community members are excited about the prospective of better service thanks to the new truck. He said, "It is a big deal for us. It's not going to be put in service until the lettering is changed and the volunteers are trained on it, though. It'll be about a month before we put it on service."
Lombard added the ladder truck will be helpful to other departments in the surrounding area, as well, since Wheaton regularly goes on mutual aid calls. He said, "The thing we are looking at, too, is with Fairview, Stella and Butterfield, we cover grounds with them all around through mutual aid. A lot of structures in those communities are two-story. This will help more than just our residents."
The truck was brought to the main fire station in Wheaton on Wednesday, November 13, and the district announced the acquisition to its residents on Facebook.
The Wheaton Fire Protection District is funded by a property tax levy voted in by residents in 2013. They are run by 18 volunteers and serve a protection district of approximately 75 square miles with 2,500 residents. Last year, Wheaton Fire Protection District went on approximately 350 calls for service, which has been a steady upward trend over the years.
