In a time when most aerial ladder trucks are coming out of their builders' works as quints, there are still some without pump or hose, sticking exclusively to the ladder truck principle.

There's one in western New York State that this writer saw before its delivery that was impressive to the eyes that have gazed on so many similar vehicles. There's a bit more of technology in this rig than others, and the aspects of novelty and ingenuity are such that it's worth the writing as well as the reading.

Our location of interest is the village of Albion, population 12,000, a bedroom community that covers three square miles. Add to that the 25.5 square miles of the Town of Albion, along with 34.4 square miles for the Town of Gaines, and you have the territory covered by the Albion Fire Department. The towns are strongly rural, so if you consider the total sum, they have a wide range of possibilities for their ventures.

It's a volunteer fire department of 75 members running from a single station. These quarters house three pumpers, one tanker, the ladder truck that's getting our attention, and three vehicles designated for miscellaneous duties, including light rescue. The alarms add up to between 400 and 450 a year: about 350 for fire, 50 for ems and the balance run by way of vehicle extrication.

A star is designed, then born A 1972 Mack-Baker Aerialscope acquired from another fire department in 1990 was being used for ladder truck duty, but clearly wouldn't last forever. So a replacement committee of nine members was formed and deliberated on their course for two years. The result seems very pleasing to the eye and has some interesting innovations. (The 1972 aerial this unit replaced was sold last fall.)

"It's a combination ladder truck and rescue truck," says Chief Harry Papponetti. The department decided not to go the quint route partly because they already had three pumpers and partly because of their heavy-rescue needs. "When you go to a quint, you lose a lot of compartmentation," Papponetti explains, and the truck gets a lot heavier.

The cab-and-chassis is a Spartan Medium four-door Gladiator with a 470hp diesel engine and an Allison HD4060 automatic transmission. Vehicle dimensions are 11 feet, 6 inches for height and 46 feet, 9 inches for overall length, with a 240-inch wheelbase. The low-profile cab is aluminum, but the body work is 12-gauge 304l stainless steel.

R.D. Murray Fire Apparatus of Hamburg, N.Y., was the basic builder, and a Nova Quintech Sky Pod three-section aerial platform device was used. The platform is 16 square feet and will handle 1,000 pounds. The ladder is rated at 103 feet with a horizontal reach of 93 feet, 6 inches.

The jacks that stabilize the unit are an out-and-down system, double box beam with an 18-foot lateral spread. The jacks lift the rig off the ground and can lift it higher for mechanics to work beneath it. The jacks have a portable control panel with a 15-foot extension cord so the operator can scan each side for jack clearance.

The waterway to the platform is made of aluminum and has a 5-inch outside diameter. There are two 5-inch inlets, one on the front bumper and another at the rear that can feed the Elkhart SM 1,000gpm nozzle. This system is topped with two Span Flowmeters.

The platform, when raised, can rotate sideways 25Degrees in either direction. It has a visual and audio overload system. Also serving both platform and turntable is a breathing air system, with three quick couplings in the platform and one on the turntable. All of these are fed by two 4,500psi air cylinders of 444-cubic-foot capacity. There's also a low-air warning on this assembly. In addition, there's an Atkinson two-way intercom system between the platform and the turntable.

Since this unit is for ladder service, it's equipped with the tools and appliances typical to that process. The ground ladder complement consists of one 35-foot three-section and one 24-foot two-section extension ladder. There are also two 16-foot roof ladders, one 14-foot combination ladder, and one each of 10-foot and 8-foot folding ladders.

In addition to the typical truck company's saws and ventilation fans, this rig carries a heavy complement of low- and high-angle and confined-space rescue equipment, including three Stokes baskets. Other features that round out this ladder truck are a 68-gallon fuel tank, an Onan diesel generator with two Hannay reels of electrical cable and a 290-amp alternator.

What a neat package this rig is, a tribute to the builder's art and to the apparatus committee of the Albion Fire Department. This truck can have space in my fire station and a place in my tactical plans anytime.