The Omaha (NE) Fire Department wanted to replace two older midmount aerial platforms, so the department shopped around among several aerial manufacturers. The Pierce Manufacturing Road Rally came to Omaha showcasing a 100-foot Ascendant midmount aerial platform, and firefighters got the opportunity to drive and examine the rig. The department ordered two 100-foot midmounts from Pierce.
Assistant Chief Jason Bradley says one of the trucks was going to be housed in a station with a low overhead, so the rigs had to be designed to fit that station. “Pierce was the only one with a design that didn’t have to be reengineered, so we went with the Pierce trucks,” Bradley observes.
Cory Wittman, senior sales support aerials specialist for Pierce, says the two rigs are 100-foot Ascendant midmount aerial platforms built on Enforcer four-door flat roof cabs and chassis with seating for four firefighters, three of them in self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) Pierce PSV seats with IMMI SmartDock brackets. He notes that the rigs have wheelbases of 255 inches, overall lengths of 42 feet 11 inches, and overall heights of 11 feet.
Todd Clyne, sale representative for MacQueen Emergency Group, who sold the two midmount platforms to Omaha, says besides wanting trucks with a maximum overall height of 11 feet, the department also wanted a maneuverable truck, and that the Ascendant’s 13-inch frame rails helped in keeping the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) to 76,000 pounds on that 255-inch wheelbase. Clyne points out that the rigs have 510-horsepower (hp) Paccar MX13 engines, Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmissions, TAK-4 independent front suspensions, and dual axle air ride rear suspensions.
“These trucks do not have a pump or tank on them,” Clyne notes, “although there is a waterway located on the side of the aerial. Also, there’s a 36-inch-wide transverse compartment in place of the pump house on these rigs with 4-inch waterway intakes on each side of the truck below that transverse compartment.”…