Ocala, FL (November 10, 2011) – Oklahoma City Fire Department (OCFD) placed an order for three custom tankers and two CR100 aerial ladders, making OCFD one of the largest E-ONE fleets in the country and the largest active E-ONE aerial fleet with 18 aerials in service.
“Whether we’re ordering engines, tankers, aerials, rescues or wildland apparatus, with three-quarters of our department being E-ONE we clearly believe in the product,” OCFD Deputy Chief Marc Woodard said. “And of course, having a great dealer 25 miles down the road is very helpful too.”
With 35 fire stations covering 623 square miles and approximately 600,000 citizens, OCFD needs a wide variety of apparatus to protect lives and property. This recent order reflects the breadth of capability needed to cover such a diverse area.
“Due to our recent wildfires, the three tankers we ordered each have a 3000 gallon water capacity, which is an increase from our previous 2500 gallon tanker design,” Woodard said. “Having an extra 500 gallons is vital to our operation when 60-70% of our response area does not have a municipal water distribution system.”
As for the two new aerials, the demands of a growing community require an aerial that can perform heavy-duty operations while still being light on its feet.
“These two new aerials will be going to stations responding to new apartment complexes so we needed the heavier tip load offered on E-ONE’s CR100,” Woodard said. “We also prefer the lighter weight aluminum construction since a lot of our rescue ladders run on non-fire calls, the lighter aerial has proven to be more durable over the course of the truck’s life cycle.”
OCFD is intimately familiar with the life cycle of E-ONE aerials, two years ago the department had six of its 19-year-old E-ONE aerials upgraded at E-ONE’s Factory Service Center.
“The upgrades were an excellent option for our department, the city council thought it was a great idea for the community since we ended up saving around $100,000 to $150,000 per truck while upgrading them to current technology and standards,” Woodard said.
According to Woodard, not only are the trucks top-quality, but the people who build them are as well.
“This is a new role for me with OCFD and everyone at E-ONE has been very supportive as I settle into this new position,” Woodard said. “It’s been really satisfying to see this project from start to finish, a lot of dedicated people put a lot of hard hours into building these trucks.”
For more information on E-ONE or to locate a dealer near you, visit www.E-ONE.com or call 352-237-1122.
As a leading manufacturer of first responder vehicles, E-ONE engineers, manufactures and markets mission-critical vehicles including custom and commercial pumpers tankers, Water Master vacuum tankers, aerial ladders and platforms, command and communication apparatus, quick attack units, industrial trucks, and aircraft rescue firefighting vehicles. The company sells its products world-wide and is headquartered in Ocala, Florida. E-ONE is an ISO 9001 registered and CCC certified manufacturer. For more information, visit www.e-one.com.
