The City of Terrebonne had to shop all the way to Minnesota to find a fire truck capable of freer access to a sector of its territory where a highway bridge poses a problem.
The sector in question is Île Saint-Jean, in the Rivière des Mille-Îles, where the maximum height under the Highway 25 bridge is 13 feet, a situation that slows down the work of firefighters when every minute counts. during a fire.
“I’ve seen fire trucks in Quebec that have snagged ladders under overpasses, completely breaking a ladder park [ensemble du système échelle]“Explained Sylvain Dufresne, director of the Terrebonne Fire Department (SSIT), whom we met with the new truck, under the Île Saint-Jean overpass.
“Hitting an overpass would result in damages of approximately $125,000,” he added.
And repairing a ladder can take 6 to 9 months, according to Mr. Dufresne, which would translate to one less vehicle in a city that answers about 2,000 calls a year.
“Normally, the overpasses are a little higher than that, underlined the director of the fire department. With a [modèle] standard, it was necessary […] to come down [la nacelle] and that compromised the driver’s visibility.”
And, he mentioned, “a fire truck still has a swing.” “The nacelle will move a little when the driver is driving the least bit quickly, so it could hit the viaduct.”
According to Mr. Dufresne, it would still be possible to access the Île Saint-Jean sector with a normal truck, “but you would have to go through Laval to return to our territory”.
The SSIT has thus recently equipped itself with a ladder truck with a low-profile platform from the manufacturer Rosenbauer which gives an additional 8 inches of maneuvering room to the vehicle and its equipment.
The acquisition of such a truck would be a first in Canada, according to Mr. Dufresne.
“The low profile, I had never seen that in my 32-year career, he told us. I think it’s a product that can meet the realities of fire services in Quebec.”
To carry out this acquisition, the SSIT dispatched a team to Minnesota at the American subsidiary of the Austrian manufacturer of fire trucks Rosenbauer. In addition to the low-profile truck, the department purchased three other trucks from this company for a total of $5.1 million.
In addition, the SSIT is currently in a call for tenders for a new pumper that will be delivered in 2025, in order to replace aging equipment.