New tower ladders for Chicago (more)

E-ONE photo

Tags: Chicago Fire Department, Chicago orders E-ONE tower ladders, E-ONE building fire trucks for Chicago, fire truck being built, fire truck photos, photos of fire truck being built

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31 Comments (and one trackback)

#1 by Brian on December 14, 2015 - 5:37 PM

Thanks Dennis. I guess using “snorkel” with smeal building the real “snorkel” is confusing with rosenbauer. They need to come out with a name for the new invention.
#2 by Dennis on December 14, 2015 - 2:16 PM

No Brian I was told Rosenbauer will have a snorkel at FDIC.
#3 by Bill Post on December 14, 2015 - 4:40 AM

Speaking of Houston, as of late they have been ordering most of their Heavy Apparatus from Spartan/ERV and they received a new Spartan ERV Tower Ladder about a year ago in their new color scheme. They only have 5 Tower Ladders in service in addition to 32 or 33 straight Aerial Ladders in service.
#4 by Brian on December 13, 2015 - 8:58 PM

Do you mean smeal will have a snorkel at fdic? They have a chassis and boom being put together now.
#5 by Dennis on December 13, 2015 - 6:24 PM

Rosenbauer is building the squad sets of which there are 4 of. Squads 1,2,5, & 7 will get them. Heard first delivery by May(no year mentioned) also Rosenbauer is supposedly going to have a 55′ snorkel at FDIC and it’s supposedly going to a department in the Northern suburb.

The towers will be at Fire Service by the end of the year, after that not sure on how long before they go in service.
#6 by Gary on December 13, 2015 - 1:29 PM

Houston doesn’t have any E-One towers on order. The contract they used was a co-op (HGAC) not a city of Houston contract.
- #7 by Chuck on December 13, 2015 - 10:56 PM
  
  So if it was not a City of Houston order, where are the towers on the original order going to?
#8 by Chuck on December 12, 2015 - 11:58 PM

Wonder if E-One has delivered any of the Houston towers that these three were an emergency add-on order to.
#9 by Bill Post on December 12, 2015 - 9:26 PM

Thanks for the update John. I certainly hope that more Tower Ladders get ordered within the next 2 years and of course it’s been awhile since new Engines have been ordered. Generally speaking it is recommended that a fire suppression apparatus shouldn’t be in frontline service more then about 20 years and even by Chicago standards that is on the high side as in recent years Chicago had been attempting to replace most heavy apparatus between 12 and 15 years in front line service however due to the poor economy and Chicago’s tight and overburdened budget a number of rigs have been service for 15 or more years with a few of them pushing 20 within the next few years.
Would you know if the order for the Rosenbauer Snorkel Squads is still for four 2 piece companies. A few years ago (before the delays) my understanding was that they were supposed initially deliver one or two of the Squads and after testing them and breaking them in the rest of the order would be delivered within the following year. Due to the severe delays which had resulted in a renegotiation of the contract with Rosenbauer and some modifications as well , I was wondering whether Chicago will be getting the original (as planned) order of 4 or will it be only one or two with an option of increasing the order? Thanks.
- #10 by John on December 12, 2015 - 9:51 PM
  
  The last I heard was that the snorkels were put on the back burner until the tower situation was remedied. along with some controversy about even replacing the snorkels, as the towers can do what they do and more.
  - #11 by mike on December 13, 2015 - 9:13 AM
    
    My guess is that they’re not getting the rosenbauer wanna be snorkels. They will either get refused at delivery for not meeting spec or they city has paid them an invonvience fee and they’re not being built. Now with Smeal building atleast 1 55′ snorkel in CFD colors it’s probably gonna go that way. I would also bet that after the new ones get delivered the current snorkels and the spare go back to Smeal and get remounted
#12 by Bill Post on December 12, 2015 - 7:48 PM

John those possible reassignments do definitely make sense even though it is still speculative as we really won’t know until they are finally delivered and assigned to companies. There is one thing for certain and that is one of the 1996 HME/LTI Tower Ladders will still remain in front line service after the three new rigs get assigned to companies so to put it another way whose HME/LTI will remain standing alone in service after the reassignments? I tend to agree with you that Tower Ladder 37 will most likely get one of the new E/Ones and so the question is will Tower Ladder 21 or will Tower Ladder 39 be keeping their HME/LTI. I haven’t seen the latest run statistics for quite a while now but the likely hood is that that the two busiest of the HME/LTI Tower Ladders will be replaced with the new rigs and the least busiest will probably remain with their current HME/LTI. Like I had mentioned previously only Tower Ladder 39’s HME/LTI is at it’s originally assigned company while Tower Ladders 37 and 21 are using “hand me downs” (reassigned rigs).
- #13 by John on December 12, 2015 - 8:31 PM
  
  Tower 10 will be getting a new one, not 37. 37 will once again get 10’s Pierce, like they got their LTI when 10 got the Pierce years back. 21, which was the old 14, will stay in service with the LTI they have, which also had the hydraulic system completely overhauled years ago after they got it from 14. So, I see new going to 14; their Pierce going to 34, 10, with their Pierce going to 37, and 39, theirs having the most tower time out of the 3 LTI’s.
#14 by John on December 12, 2015 - 10:06 AM

Word is TL 34 will be getting TL 14’s Pierce, which had it’s main ladder & hydraulics re-worked a few years ago, 14 getting a new one. I’d bet money on TL 10 getting a new one because of being downtown, and like last time, TL 10’s Pierce being handed down to TL 37, whose LTI has more new welded metal on it than original metal. The 3rd? TL 39? Place your bets, gentlemen.
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#15 by shaan smith on November 27, 2015 - 10:37 AM

dennis can you tell me the little changes they did to the squads i really hope that they will bee deliverd 2016 and i am excited to see what they look like
#16 by Dennis on November 27, 2015 - 9:55 AM

Everyone, please remember that these rigs have not been placed in service yet. Maybe things will get added once they get to fleet maybe they wont. who knows. These rigs still have red and green mine you it’s on the mirror’s. The NFPA standard basically says you may not have facing white lights on while parked. So again lets wait and see what happens.
#17 by Rich S. on November 25, 2015 - 6:48 PM

So in regard to the front intake on the TL’s in the CFD, we usually try to put the rear end of the rig towards the fire building for reach of the main. Having the front intake allows for a quick and easy connection of the supply line. As for the friction loss its negligible at best. And now the lights, I believe the NFPA standard relates to rear facing lights and you are correct because of NFPA a green light is supposed to signify a command post… Like we can’t tell the command van from a fire truck…. And Federal Signal no longer makes a traffic clearing light to put on the nose of the rig, although Tri Lite still makes the MARS 888, not sure why it’s not on there. But we are losing many long standing traditions in the CFD for some reason.
#18 by Bill Post on November 25, 2015 - 4:28 PM

Harry that’s a good question that you ask about which companies will be getting the new rigs assigned to them. I conversely ask which of the tower ladder companies will not be getting a new rig. As has been previously mentioned on this particular subject there are four companies that would normally be on the list to be replaced with new rigs and they are Tower Ladder 34 which has the oldest in-service rig (a 1988 E/One) and Tower Ladders 37,39, and 21 which all have matching 1996 HME/LTI tower ladders. As there are only three new tower ladders on order, one of those three matching rigs will not be replaced and so the question would really be which of those three 1996 rigs have the least wear or the least mileage?
As to which companies actually get the new rigs, there is also another variable and that (as previously brought up) is will the new rigs go directly to three of those four companies or will the new rigs go to any of the other tower ladders that are using newer rigs. Those currently assigned newer rigs (Pierces or the 2000 American LaFrance/LTI) will consequently be reassigned to the companies that are using thane HME or the 1988 E/One rigs as the Chicago Fire Department sometimes will reassign apparatus to other companies. Of the three HME/LTI rigs, two of them were handed down from Tower Ladders 10 and 14 where they were originally assigned. Only Tower Ladder 39’s rig is still assigned to the company to which it was originally assigned.
Tower Ladder 37 is using Tower Ladder 10’s hand-me-down and Tower Ladder 21 is using Tower Ladder 14’s former rig. Whether the CFD decides to reassign some of the tower ladders is also a good question.
#19 by Chris S on November 25, 2015 - 2:46 PM

No clear warning light over the grill? That’s a first
#20 by turk 182 on November 25, 2015 - 2:34 PM

You can still buy an apparatus with green lights that is NFPA approved, the reasons for no more green lights is that certain people in the city do not like the green light. The last green lights went on the EMS chief buggy’s.
I would be very supersized if the towers will have them.
#21 by tom sullivan on November 25, 2015 - 11:10 AM

a couple of more reasons for front intake on tl’s. it allows an extended bumper for a pre-connect intake line (4″) and the rear intake, when a line is connected, limits access to the ground ladders carried in the “chute”.
#22 by BMurphy on November 24, 2015 - 9:38 PM

Mike, unless I’m completely mistaken (and need better glasses) all TLs have a rear intake, along with a front (except as noted). The limited friction loss from a few extra bends of piping is worth having the greater tactical flexibility and convenience of a front intake, especially as in so many instances a TL is backed into the scene to setup, making it a real pain to use the rear intake. That’s our tactic out here in my slice of suburbia, and I wish our TL had a front intake for that very reason.

(Personal opinion here: those low-slung E-One outriggers are the absolute BEST!!)
#23 by Scott on November 24, 2015 - 8:43 PM

The rigs have to be delivered to an NFPA spec but city (purchaser) can sign a waiver on items that where altered out of spec (green lights). However as long as there are 2 red flashing on the front of the rig that meets spec. That is why you see the double light fixtures on the front. The mirror lights are marker lights and they are accessories not required DOT running lights therefore no waiver needed.

Finally the tower’s have rear intakes as well. The front is just an additional for access. Also since it is being built from scratch the friction loss co-efficient should be found and known when the rig is certified at E-One.
#24 by harry on November 24, 2015 - 8:42 PM

i wonder which towers will get any of these 3
#25 by harry on November 24, 2015 - 8:41 PM

i like them i would guess they should be in the city in a month or 2 looking good
#26 by the animal on November 24, 2015 - 8:30 PM

Mike, All Tower ladders have a Front intake except for Tower 5. Tower 5 Was a stock model. The Pressure from the engines plus flow and a few other things I forget compensate mathematically for Friction lose.
#27 by mike on November 24, 2015 - 7:33 PM

I’m surprised that they put a intake on the front bumper instead of the rear. That’s a lot of piping and added friction loss just to have the intake on the front bumper.
#28 by Rj on November 24, 2015 - 6:48 PM

NIMS deals with incident management and does not address warning lights. However, NFPA 1901 Standard for Automotive Fire apparatus does address warning light colors. Table 13.8.12.1 outlines permissible colors and the areas on the apparatus where each can be used. The acceptable colors are red, blue, yellow and white. Green is not permisable per NFPA. In fact, some apparatus manufacturers won’t deliver an apparatus with green lenses, they will supply them but you have to put them on yourself.
#29 by ffpm571 on November 24, 2015 - 6:19 PM

There is NO NIMS or NFPA Requirement for blue lights..
#30 by FARTIN' FRED on November 24, 2015 - 11:50 AM

I like the red/green mirror lights. Keeping with tradition, which again begs the question: what’s the deal with the blue light bars on the buggies??
- #31 by Dennis on November 24, 2015 - 12:00 PM
  
  Every rig has always had the red and green on the marker lights on the mirrors. The blue lights are a NFPA/NIMS standard