Pocatello fire department’s brand new ‘tiller truck’ arrives

The Pocatello Fire Department’s brand new “tiller truck.” | Courtesy city of Pocatello POCATELLO – The city’s fire department has acquired a new firefighting vehicle with a unique steering system. On Tuesday, a new tractor-drawn aerial apparatus, otherwise known as a “tiller truck,” joined the Pocatello Fire Department’s fleet. Now called Truck 1, the vehicle will offer enhanced maneuverability through tight city streets thanks to its defining feature, called a “tiller steering system.” “This is more than just a fire truck, it’s an investment in safety, efficiency, and the future of our department,” said Chief Ryan O’Hearn in a press release. “The tiller truck expands our operational capabilities and ensures our firefighters have the best tools available to protect lives and property.” Rather than operate like a standard ladder truck, with a straight frame, the tiller truck has an attachment point between the front cab and a trailer carrying its ladder and other rescue equipment. “In this case, the trailer is the aerial, rather than a cargo trailer like could be on a semi truck. And so it articulates there in the middle between the tractor and the aerial device, which allows it to be more maneuverable,” O’Hearn told EastIdahoNews.com. Not only that, but the truck has two drivers, a front driver and a tillerman, operating the tiller-steering mechanism on the back of the trailer. The tillerman has the ability to turn the trailer’s rear wheels in the opposite direction of the front cab, achieving a tighter turn. This truck was approved by the city council in October 2022, but before that, the department put together a committee to evaluate what kind of aerial vehicle it would order to replace its 20-year-old tower ladder truck. In their research, committee members spoke with firefighters with other departments that had tractor-drawn aerial vehicles. “Traditionally, we did have this type of apparatus up until about the year 2000. That’s when we switched over and went with the straight-frame aerials,” O’Hearn said. “Now we’ve had three of those, and just in our evaluation, we thought it was time to look at this type of truck again, and decided that it was the right fit for Pocatello.” Now, after three years, the tiller truck has finally arrived. Truck 1, which boasts a 107-foot aerial ladder, will allow firefighters to maneuver more efficiently through the “tight city streets, alleyways, or challenging rural roads,” reads the press release. In two weeks, a group called Response Training Group will come to Pocatello for four days to instruct the department’s trainers on how to most-effectively train their own firefighters to operate the tiller truck. “This is a new type of truck for us that we haven’t had in our fleet for over 20 years, and so it does require some special training, and we’re really looking forward to increasing our capability with this piece of apparatus,” O’Hearn said.The post Pocatello fire department’s brand new ‘tiller truck’ arrives appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com