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Eagle Grove looking to add aerial ladder truck

‘We can reach into buildings without sending a man in.’

EAGLE GROVE — The Eagle Grove Fire Department may soon have a 107-foot aerial ladder truck in its fleet, which will help it execute rescue missions and extinguish fires more efficiently, according to Bryce Davis, Eagle Grove city administrator.

“We reduce the amount of firefighters we need to make the same rescue, and we have the ability to go unmanned,” Davis said. “We can reach into buildings without sending a man in.”

He added, “We can operate the ladder from the vehicle and then send the ladder with the unmanned hose to break up the smoke and flames, so when we do send our firefighters in, it’s a little safer than going into a smoky area.”

The Eagle Grove City Council considered the acquisition of the truck at its meeting Monday night.

A public hearing has been set for April 15 to further discuss the matter.

Davis said that if all goes well the council could pass a resolution that night to authorize the funding.

If that happens, the Fire Department will pick up the truck in May, he said.

The truck is a 2017 Pierce model with 20,000 miles on it. It has a 500-gallon water tank.

Davis said the 107-foot model is appropriate given the city’s needs.

“Because of how big the vehicle is, we still need to make turns around municipal streets, but we can reach inside homes and inside our dryer at AGP (soybean processing plant),” he said.

Tom Peterson, Eagle Grove fire chief, agreed.

“Our main street is old and tall and we are getting more industrial buildings in our fire district that are more taller buildings also,” Peterson said.

Not counting elevators, some grain bins are about 70 feet tall in Eagle Grove, making them some of the tallest structures.

“This would be good for grain bin rescues or fires,” Peterson said. “We have had no way of battling a grain bin from up above.”

The Prestage Foods of Iowa plant is 50 feet tall, which is the tallest building around Eagle Grove, not including farm-related buildings.

The Fire Department is made up of 23 volunteers.

Peterson said the addition of the truck would save manpower.

“If we have to set up a 35-foot ladder, which is our biggest ladder, you are looking at four men to set that up and then you are hauling gear,” Peterson said. “This way you can extend it right up there. You have water at the top of this ladder. You don’t even need a man up in the smoke and heat to use this.”

The City Council is considering a lease-purchase agreement for the truck.

“It’s a lease until the end of the term, and then the city will purchase it for a dollar,” Davis said. “However, the city retains the right to purchase the vehicle anytime during the agreement at a specified price. The more we pay on the lease, the lower the price on that truck will be in any given year. It depends what interest rates do and the forms of financing the city has available for that piece of equipment.”

The purchase price is $793,000.

Davis said the county’s rural fire association has agreed to cover 20 percent of the cost.

And as a result, the truck will be used outside of Eagle Grove city limits.

“That 20 percent will sit in a city account, which we will pay down our annual payment with that assistance from the townships,” Davis said.

Davis said the city will also seek donations from businesses.

“Our response could be improved because of this new vehicle,” he said. “There’s a lot of benefit to residents and businesses within our fire district, which includes the rural part, so everything surrounding Eagle Grove and Eagle Grove itself.”

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