Chelsea Fire Department puts new ladder truck in service

The Chelsea Fire & Rescue Department received a special delivery on April 16 when their new truck arrived.

Built from the ground up by Pierce Manufacturing out of Appleton, Wisconsin, the truck came with a price tag of over $1.2 million, which the city has already paid for.  It will replace the old ladder truck that was bought six years ago after being retired from a department in Marietta, Georgia.

“At that time in Chelsea, all we needed was a ladder truck to use in rare times, but now as Chelsea continues to grow, we needed a new ladder truck,” Fire Chief Wayne Shirley said. “Since we will soon be adding a third station, it was time to get a new truck with a ladder.” 

After a lengthy design process to lay out specifics, the plans go to the engineers at the plant for approval before construction. 

“Each department can customize their truck based on the needs of the community,” Shirley said. “It is designed to meet exactly what our needs are.” 

The apparatus committee from Chelsea FD made two trips to Wisconsin: one for a pre-build conference and another after the truck was done to make sure it met their specifications. Then, the truck was driven from Wisconsin to the vendor in Pelham. 

“When they get truck in Pelham, they have a list of things they do locally, including installing specific equipment,” Shirley said.

All of the staff participated in training classes from Pierce and the local vendor. They also had a weeklong training at the Alabama Fire College on how to operate aerial operations, since the truck features a 107-foot ladder. 

All the firemen took part in an in-house training program to cover the trucks’ capabilities and the department’s policies and procedures. After the local training is done, the truck will be ready for emergency calls. 

“Everyone will know everything about it before it goes on the road,” Shirley said. 

The truck itself functions like any other fire truck, but the ladder allows the availability to do things from above like flow water or assist in rescuing. 

“People tend to think of a ladder truck for using at tall buildings,” Shirley said. “That’s not necessarily the only time. While we would use it for tall buildings coming to Chelsea, we can also use it for very spread out buildings to put the ladder in the air and squirt water where it needs to be placed.”

On May 25, a dedication ceremony for the new fire truck took place at Station 31 as the new ladder truck was placed into service. 

Chelsea Fire and Rescue Station 33, located on Shelby County 51 near U.S. 280, is set to be completed by Sept. 30. Once it is open, the department will staff a total of 10 people on duty around the clock.