Melrose Fire Department had purchased three pumpers and one tractor drawn aerial (TDA) from Seagrave over the years, so when it needed to replace its 2007 Seagrave tiller, it went back to them again for a new TDA.
“Melrose is a small, fairly affluent residential bedroom community seven miles north of Boston with a population of about 28,000 residents,” says John White, Melrose’s chief. “There’s some commercial, not much industrial, and a lot of single and two family homes in our district of four square miles. We have 48 paid full-time firefighters operating out of three stations, including a central fire station built in 1895.”
Besides the longtime association with Seagrave, White points out that “Seagrave was the only manufacturer who would guarantee that they could build a tractor drawn aerial that would fit in our old central station. They came out here and measured our doorway arch three times to be sure the new truck would fit in the station.”
Brett Romberg, internal sales representative for Seagrave, says the new TDA for Melrose is a 100-foot Patriot TDA built on a Marauder chassis and tractor cab with seating for five firefighters, three of them in H.O. Bostrom self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) seats, powered by a 500-horsepower (hp) Cummins X12 engine with a Telma engine retarder, and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission.
The tractor has front and rear Meritor axles with a Newway air ride suspension on the drive axle, while the trailer has a Dana air ride rear axle. The tractor wheelbase is 155 inches, trailer wheelbase is 305 inches, vehicle overall length is 58 feet 6 inches, and overall height is 10 feet 4 inches, Romberg says.
Gerry Post, sales representative for Fleetmasters Inc., who sold the TDA to Melrose, says that Melrose firefighters said they especially liked the jacking system on the Seagrave TDA. “It has a 250-pound tip load with a 12-foot jacking stance,” Post observes. The A-frame jacks are at the front of the trailer and make for an easy setup and a short stance, allowing the department to easily set up on crowded streets.”
Post points out that Melrose pretty much mirrored its 2007 Seagrave TDA with one big exception. “The biggest change on the new tiller was that they dropped the generator and went with two Honda 2-kW portable generators, along with a lot more outlets on the truck to charge their assortment of battery-operated tools,” he says.
White notes that Melrose wanted to carry a big complement of ground ladders on the rig. “We have a lot of hills in our district, so access to houses can be a concern, as can overhead wires and trees.” He says the ground ladders carried horizontally in the TDA’s covered compartment include all Duo-Safety ladders — a 40-foot two-section extension ladder with staypoles, two 35-foot two-section extension ladders, and two 20-foot double-ended roof ladders. Outboard ground ladders include a Duo-Safety 28-foot two-section extension ladder, 16-foot roof ladder and 15-foot Fresno ladders; an Alco-Lite 14-foot folding ladder; and a Little Giant Velocity M13 aluminum ladder.
Romberg says that lighting on the tiller includes Whelen 600 series LED warning lighting, Whelen 600 series amber LED arrow signals, Truck-Lite LED quad headlights, a HiViz FireTech LED brow light, two Whelen LED Mini light bars, Whelen LED tiller driving lights, and TecNiq LED parking lights.
Other equipment on the rig, Romberg adds, includes a Federal Q2B siren recessed in the front bumper, dual Grover Stuttertone air horns, a Federal 100-watt siren speaker, a Task Force Tips Monsoon electric monitor with quad stacked tips and a StreamShaper nozzle, and storage spaces for a Stokes basket, a backboard, and an ice sled.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
