PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city's front-line ladder truck is back.

 

Tower 1, which has been in an upstate New York repair shop for the last seven weeks or so has returned to service. When the truck had gone out for a routine maintenance, heavy corrosion was found underneath and it wouldn't pass a third-party inspection. It has been in the shop since.

 

Meanwhile, the city's reserve ladder, Truck 2, a 1994 Spartan/Darley pumper, was supposed to be fill in while Tower 1 was being repaired. But that truck's stabilizers wouldn't retract and it had to be taken out of service. 

 

Thus, the city has had no ladder truck since late November.

 

On Wednesday, firefighters received the call that Tower 1 was fully repaired and immediately went to pick it up. It was back in Pittsfield's headquarters by 4 p.m.

 

The city now has one ladder truck in service, and soon there will be two. The City Council earlier this month allocated an additional $200,000 to a previously approved $600,000 bond approval to purchase a used 2014 Pierce Manufacturing Co. 100-foot aerial ladder truck, which had been used as a demonstrator model at trade shows for the company. The purchase price is $780,000.

 

Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski said on Monday that the truck was ordered and being driven from Wisconsin to Walpole for servicing this week — the icy weather in the Midwest slowed delivery by a day or so. As soon as it arrives in Walpole, Fire Department staff will inspect it to ensure it is what they expected and have it lettered. 

 

"It's looking we'll have that in service by the end of January," Czerwinski said. "It should be pretty well set ... it is basically a new truck."

 

The chief says the new Pierce has never been to the scene of a fire but has put on about 10,000 miles going from trade show to trade show. New radios will be installed and equipment added before it can go in service.

 

"We should have 95 percent of the equipment we need in-house already," Czerwinski said.

 

The Department hasn't quite determined how to utilize the two ladder trucks, whether it will rotate the new one to be the front-line vehicle or use it more sparingly. And Tower 1 will need to go in for its annual inspection soon.

 

Nonetheless, Deputy Chief Matthew Noyes said to say the department is happy about Tower 1 returning is an understatement. The firefighters are thrilled to have the truck back in service.

 

When both trucks were down, neighboring towns were called in to help at several fires. Dalton provided primary mutual aid with its ladder truck and was called to the Tahiti Takeout fire in December and was on hand, but not used, at the Carlo Motor Express on East Street. Dalton's truck is now in the shop for maintenance and not available.

 

This past weekend, Lenox, Williamstown, and Adams were all called for mutual aid to bring ladder trucks to help combat a fire on Dalton Avenue. 

 

Tower 1, a 2009 Pierce, is a platform ladder whereas the one on order is a straight ladder.