Custom-built fire truck arrives at Beaufort-Port Royal. Officials expect it to save lives
The Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department has a new custom-built pumper truck that city officials say will improve public safety with more pumping capacity and the ability to carry vital equipment such as the Jaws of Life and a defibrillator.
“It was custom built, literally, to the final piece,” Fire Chief Tim Ogden said.
The 33-foot long red and black rig, which cost $800,000, replaces a 14-year-old truck and is the department’s fifth in-service pumper (there are two reserves).
The Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department, which has 48 shift firefighters, operates out of four fire stations serving Beaufort and Port Royal. In 2020, it had 4,138 calls, include emergency medical situations, rescues and accidents and fires. Headquartered at Station 4 on S.C. 170, the truck’s first day of service is Monday.
The new pumper truck was purchased from Spartan Emergency Response in Summerville, S.C., but Pierce Manufacturing in Appleton, Wis., which custom builds fire trucks, built it.
Twice, firefighters with the Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department, at no city expense, flew to Wisconsin for pre- and post-construction meetings.
The truck itself was $500,000 but the total cost, including an extended warranty and maintenance agreement and additional equipment and storage, added $300,000. The equipment includes a Jaws of Life hydraulic apparatus used to pry apart the wreckage of crashed vehicles. The truck also carries a Lifepak defibrillator, like those seen in ambulances or emergency rooms.
City Manager Bill Prokop said the truck basically started out as a piece of steel and came out as a red and black fire truck with the Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department logo. During its manufacture, he noted, the city received video updates.
The truck can hold 1,000 gallons of water. That’s 250 gallons more than any other pumper in the fleet. It carries 1,000 feet of supply line fire hose in addition to three shorter hoses called “attack lines.”
The purchase was OK’d as part of Beaufort’s 2020 budget, and the truck arrived two weeks ago.
“Hopefully it’s not going to get used that much,” Mayor Stephen Murray said Tuesday, when council members checked it out prior to a meeting.
