Since the beginning of summer, the WVFC officers have been evaluating the future of Ladder 47, our 1997 Pierce 105’ ladder truck. While there is nothing mechanically wrong with it, we wanted to plan ahead due to being 27 years old. The recommended replacement age is 20 years old.

After being presented several options, the membership of the WVFC approved to partially refurbish Ladder 47. The work will be done by Glick Fire Equipment, the local Pierce dealer in Lancaster County. The refurbishment will include the aerial ladder being removed, sandblasted, and re-painted, all hydraulic lines will be replaced, amd the rear all-steer system will be gone over. Also, the turntable and pedestal will be gone over, all outriggers will be gone over and other miscellaneous items will be taken care of.

The total cost of the refurbishment is approximately $150,000. If we had to replace this unit with a similar new apparatus, we would be looking at costs of upwards of $2 million dollars and a newer used model would probably be a minimum of $600-$750,000.

By choosing to refurbish, the fire company will be saving our residents and municipalities a significant amount of money and expect the refurb will add 10-15 more years of service life. We average approximately 350 responses year and our ladder truck runs almost half those calls. We expect the refurbishment will take a minimum of 5-6 months to complete and is scheduled to start in March 2025.

The next closest aerial devices to Womelsdorf are from the Keystone Fire Co in Myerstown and Western Berks FD. While they provide excellent service, our membership felt we should not be without an aerial device in our community for that length of time as the safety of our residents is paramount. Initially we were considering renting or borrowing a ladder truck however we quickly found that ladder trucks are almost non-existent to borrow and renting one proved cost prohibitive for the amount of time we would need it. There is also the training factor with learning how to operate a different aerial device, depending on the type we would get. We began looking for a suitable replacement to purchase and very fortunately found one right here in PA.

At a special meeting, the membership approved the purchase of a 1998 Pierce 105’ ladder truck at a cost of $80,000. The truck was previously in service with the Old Forge FD in Lackawanna County, just south of Scranton.

With the exception of not having a pump and water tank, this truck is almost identical to our current ladder truck in terms of driving, set-up, and operations. This is a huge benefit when it comes to training, experience and operations. We felt this was a win-win situation for us, our community and our mutual-aid fire companies who rely on us for truck company operations as well. At the completion of our ladder’s refurbishment, we expect to sell the 1998 Pierce and hopefully recover most of the value of what we paid for the truck

It should be noted that both the cost of the refurbishment and the purchase of the 1998 Pierce were made using funds from our online Facebook raffles and the WVFC still remains debt free, being good stewards of the funding we receive from our residents and local municipalities.

In the coming months, members will be perform driver training and equipment layout and mounting will be taking place.

We would like to take the opportunity to thank Bob Bainbridge from Fire Line Equipment for his assistance with obtaining this truck. We would also like to thank the members of the Old Forge Fire Dept. for their excellent hospitality and information they have provided us during this process.