Smeal/Ladder Tower Co building first 55′ Snorkel (more)

Several readers have submitted the following information from the Interstate Emergency Vehicles, Inc. Facebook page and the Smeal website about the first Snorkel being built by Smeal

Screen Shot 2016-01-25 at 11.32.20 AM

Tags: Frankfort Fire Department, Frankfort Fire Protection District to receive first new Snorkel built by Smeal, Interstate Emergency Vehicles, Ladder Tower Company, Smeal building 55' Snorkel, Smeal Fire Apparatus, speculation about 55' Snorkel being built

This entry was posted on January 25, 2016, 11:34 AM and is filed under Fire Department News. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

21 Comments

#1 by Brian on January 28, 2016 - 3:10 PM

Have not heard that but if that is the case, losing the tower for a snorkel and adding a larger straight stick makes sense
#2 by MABAS 19 on January 28, 2016 - 12:39 PM

Heard Frankfort was also getting a new truck 107 FT and replacing the 75FT Quint
#3 by mike mc on January 28, 2016 - 10:15 AM

Wasn’t there discussion a couple of years ago that OSHA was going to have the snorkel declared unsafe because you can’t evacuate from the basket in the result of extreme hydraulic failure? (Other than to slide down a rope.) Does anyone know what became of that? Was it just another rumor?

Thanks in advance.
#4 by Big Moe on January 28, 2016 - 9:21 AM

A key to this discussion is set-back and horizontal reach. A 75 foot aerial has only 67′ of reach at 0 degrees elevation. This reach decreases with each degree of elevation. Set-backs in suburban and rural areas can be tremendous. Combinations of long set-backs and diminishing horizontal reach with elevation means that any aerial device will have to be on the driveway, be it black top, gravel, dirt, etc. Suburban and rural roofs can usually be accessed by portable ladders with little difficulty. Several times photos on this site have shown 75′ ladders coming up short. A 55′ snorkel with 25′ of horizontal reach will have to be right next to the target. That’s why Chicago is so successful. The CFD set-back is the width of the sidewalk and they set up on concrete roadways and can be supplied by engines connected to Lake Michigan, not a tanker shuttle. I’m not sure how effective this will be in a suburban/rural application, given the limitations of such a unit. Hinsdale bought their Metz to access large homes via the driveways and they seem satisfied. Who knows if it will pay off in Frankfort. Thanks for the platform for commentary.
#5 by Erik H on January 27, 2016 - 9:20 PM

I can’t say for sure but I thinks it’s 3 personnel at stations 1, 3, 4, & 5. Station 1 has a batt chief in his own vehicle. And station 2 runs 4 personnel, 2 for the quint and 2 for the ambo. 3, 4, & 5 jump between the fire apparatus and ambo. Station 1 jumps between the engine and tower but that’ll end with the arrival of the snorkel.
- #6 by MABAS 21 on January 28, 2016 - 1:54 PM
  
  Is the Frankfort Fire District struggling financially? They used to have contract FF/Medics on the ambos along with part-time FF/Medics to supplement their full-time staff.
  
  On a side note, it is very interesting to see another diehard Pierce department moving away to other apparatus manufacturers. It makes you wonder if it’s a matter of budgetary reasons or decreasing quality of the Pierce name.
#7 by Marty Coyne on January 27, 2016 - 8:20 PM

Thanks Erik for clarifying. Will manning still be two per station plus battalion?
#8 by Erik H on January 27, 2016 - 8:09 PM

They do not have a POC program, they have a cadet program. It functions differently then a POC program. They are purchasing a Smeal/UST pumper tender. It sounds like when it’s all done it’ll be
Station 1: snorkel and battalion chief
Station 2: quint and ambulance
Station 3: pumper tender and ambulance
Station 4: engine and ambulance
Station 5: engine and ambulance.
The current engine 1 will be a spare and I think a couple spare ambulances
#9 by Marty Coyne on January 27, 2016 - 4:56 PM

I’m not very familiar with them, but based on their website they staff each station with one lieutenant /driver and one FF/PM. That’d per station, not per rig. Seems like they have way more apparatus than they can use even with POCs
#10 by Shane on January 27, 2016 - 4:52 PM

They may also be buying a new engine. Maybe they decided that they don’t need the tanker any more and it’s easier to sell it than keep it around to collect dust and go out on a mutual aid run here and there
#11 by Tom on January 26, 2016 - 11:52 PM

Frankfort is selling a kme engine a 2008 pierce engine n a 2006 ihc tanker as well as the tower what is going to replace all these vehicles
- #12 by mike on January 27, 2016 - 3:56 PM
  
  The snorkel
#13 by Robert on January 26, 2016 - 9:34 PM

If I remember correctly the old truck was too much to maintain.
#14 by ffpm571 on January 26, 2016 - 7:58 PM

I see the buffs are arm chair quarterbacking again…
#15 by Wayne on January 26, 2016 - 7:03 PM

The chiefs and firefighters in Frankfort are pretty good at what they do. While I don’t know your knowledge and experience level Dan I’d bet at least a dollar that Frankfort is doing what they believe works best for their district and the safety and welfare of their citizens and firefighters.
It may not make sense to you but unless you’re on Frankfort Fire and have inside knowledge of how the decision to purchase a snorkel was made it isn’t your place to tell them what apparatus to buy and deploy.
#16 by dan on January 26, 2016 - 6:29 PM

Brian they only have a 75 foot aerial, and their companies are spread apart and mutual aid trucks depend if they are not on ambulance calls. With frankforts higher buildings that snorkel will never get to higher reaches that a tower could without being in a collapse zone. The snorkel may have its place in a big city but not in a suburb that runs two to three man companies.
#17 by Brian on January 26, 2016 - 8:19 AM

Dan, care to go in detail on your criticism? Do you know how Frankfort runs or where companies are located? When did a brand new truck become an antique or are you calling it an antiquated idea?

Did you know they have a 100′ straight stick plus availability of auto aid towers surrounding them?
#18 by Dan on January 26, 2016 - 12:28 AM

Glad to see Frankfort will sacrifice the safety of its residents so they could be the cool guys on the block and get the new toy. How do they justify this to the tax payers. Its amazing that they just bought out the lease on the tower ladder now sell it so they can get a antique.
#19 by Marty Coyne on January 25, 2016 - 12:26 PM

Interstate’s Facebook page has multiple posts on the progress of this unit, including the boom sections, basket etc.
#20 by Brian on January 25, 2016 - 12:20 PM

They have a straight stick as well. Many of their houses have large set backs to the snorkel will have better access on driveways.
#21 by Rich on January 25, 2016 - 12:06 PM

So they got rid of 100′ tower for a 55′ snorkel. They have alot of big houses as well. The tower was that old. Or was it a piece of junk??? Any how good to see snorkel make a come back!!!!