North Myrtle Beach Fire/Rescue Takes Delivery of New Pierce 95-foot Mid-Mount Fire Truck

On July 15, North Myrtle Beach Fire/Rescue took delivery of a 2016 Pierce 95-foot Mid-Mount fire truck on an Arrow XT chassis. The new truck, which is now the city’s primary tower ladder, has been designated Truck 714 and is located at Fire Station #1, Second Avenue South.

The fire truck cost $1.2 million and was paid for out of the City’s capital improvements fund over two fiscal years. A fire truck of this type has an effective lifespan of about 20 years.

The new truck replaces a 1996 KME Aerial Cat 102 foot Rear-Mounted Aerial, which has been moved to another city fire station as a reserve apparatus. The KME served the City well as its primary tower ladder for 20 years. It was replaced due to its age and condition.

With the purchase of the new Pierce, the department has its third operational aerial device within the city limits.

The new fire truck features a 2000 gallons per minute Hale pump; 300 gallon poly tank; TAC-4 independent suspension; a 500 horse power Detroit (DD13) with an Allison Transmission; LED Headlights; an Onan 10Kw generator with two 150 foot cord reels; David Clarke Headsets for clear in-truck communication; seating for six fire/rescue personnel; and the Pierce Command Zone Multiplex System with monitors inside the cab, at the ladder turntable, and in the basket of the 95 foot aerial ladder. The truck also features a four-camera DVR system that allows for video recording of fire scenes for training purposes. The ladder compliment on the truck comes to 206 feet of ground ladders, including two 35 foot, two 28 foot, two 16 foot, an 18 foot, and a 10 foot attic ladders. A Little Giant Ladder also has a custom made storage box above the pump panel to save on compartment space.  

In North Myrtle Beach, police and fire personnel are cross-trained, and this influenced the new truck’s paint scheme and some of its features. The latest trend in fire truck colors has been a black over red paint scheme, but with neighboring fire departments already sporting that or a similar design, North Myrtle Beach Fire/Rescue decided to go with dark metallic blue over red, a reflection of the department’s cross-trained personnel—blue for police and red for fire/rescue. The colors can be seen well at night and in daylight. 

The truck also features several blue emergency lights, which may be a first for this region and possibly the state. Compared to other colors, blue is a very effective emergency light color and can been seen from farther away. The primary emergency lights are red.

The truck uses three Whelen Freedom Mini Light Bars as the primary light bar configuration. North Myrtle Beach’s street system is built on a grid, which means fire trucks need a lot of side angle lighting for visibility.