The Elizabeth, New Jersey, Fire Department has placed an order for seven custom Pierce fire apparatus, in an effort to upgrade its fleet. 

The department ordered two Arrow XT pumpers, a 100’ Heavy-Duty Rear Mount Aerial Ladder, two Walk-In Heavy-Duty Rescues, a Non-Walk-In Heavy-Duty Rescue tactical response unit, and a Walk-In Heavy-Duty Rescue special operations vehicle. The department made the purchase through Pierce dealer, Fire and Safety Services.

Keeping Up With an Increase in Calls

The order is part of a fleet replacement initiative to both upgrade current vehicles and replace some out-of-service units to equip the department’s seven firehouses with an increasing emergency call volume.  

The city of Elizabeth has a population of more than 135,000 people, with a wide range of street types and terrain, including residential and mixed-use roads, county highways, state and interstate highways, industrial roadways, marine shipping terminal roadways, airport grounds, and more. The Elizabeth Fire Department operates seven fire stations with 276 personnel and responds to over 22,000 calls per year. The department’s fleet requires the use of heavy-duty fire apparatus that supports the varying type and volume of daily operations and specialty tasks, including technical rescue incidents, according to a press release.

“When selecting and designing new fire apparatus, our department looks for safety, reliability, fleet continuity, sole-source manufacturing, and rugged construction which can stand up to our community’s varying terrain,” Elizabeth Fire Chief Salvatore J. Barraco said. “Adding new fire apparatus to our frontline fleet was a primary focus, but the opportunity to remove some older units and place them into reserve status was a huge benefit.”

Here are some of the features of each vehicle:

Pierce Arrow XT Pumpers

• Arrow XT chassis

• Cummins L9 450 hp engine

• 700-gallon water tank

• 2000 gpm single-stage pump

• Husky™ 3 foam system

• Low overall height of 10’11”

100’ Heavy-Duty Rear-Mount Aerial Ladder

• Arrow XT chassis

• Cummins X12 500 hp engine

• 8 kw generator 

• Low overall height of 11’1”

• 100’ heavy-duty aerial device with 500 lb tip load and short 12’ outrigger stance

• 207’ of ground ladders 

• Extended torque box

Walk-In Heavy-Duty Rescue 1

• Arrow XT chassis with 46” two-door cab

• Cummins X15 500 hp engine

• 25.5’ walk-in rescue body

• Low overall height of 10’10”

• Multiplex electrical system

• Harrison 20 kw generator

• Front and rear winches, multiple hitch receivers, and rope anchor points

• 48’ of ground ladders

Walk-In Heavy-Duty Rescue 2

• Arrow XT chassis with 67” cab

• Cummins X12 500 hp engine

• 23.5’ walk-in rescue body

• Low overall height of 10’8”

• Harrison 20 kw generator

• Front winch

Non-Walk-In Heavy-Duty Rescue Tactical Response Unit         

• Freightliner M2-107 4x4 chassis

• 16’ Encore rescue body

• Cummins L9 360 hp engine

• Low overall height of 10’7”

• Front winch

Walk-In Heavy-Duty Rescue Special Operations Vehicle

• Arrow XT 6x6 chassis with 57” cab

• 23.5’ walk-in rescue body

• Cummins L9 450 hp engine (with engine brake)

• Low overall height of 10’11”

• Custom interior body storage for trench rescue equipment

• Onan 10 kw diesel generator

“We’ve appreciated having the opportunity to work collaboratively to analyze the department’s unique needs and help select the most advanced fire apparatus to best support each critical mission they may encounter," Fire and Safety Services sales representative Gregg Cariddi said.