TeleSquirts: Identity Crisis

[x635 4,066]

Questions.

Is an apparatus equipped with a TeleSquirt an Engine or a Truck?

Would a TeleSquirt be a better option for the more rural communities wanting a Quint?

Is the ladder on the device actually usable?

I know there used to be a couple in the WC, Mohegan Millwood and Fairview are some that come to mind. Just curious why these departments went with Telesquirts at the time, and why they didn't continue the concept?

They also seem to be popular in the Syracuse area. In fact, peterose313 reported that the City Of Syracuse just ordered several KME engines with the TeleSquirt equivelent. Does anyone know the concept behind the use of these in Syracuse?

[x129K 1,393]

Jack of all trades, master of none.

[osufire90 18]

syracuse went back to telesquirts? There last two engines were just that...engines.

[va360 7]

West Point Fd has one because of some small street so the can have a ladder at every fire call.

Edited January 16, 2013 by va360

[Mofire24 27]

The best way to describe them are elevated waterways not a very sturdy ladder to work off of. Our telesquirt saw alot of work over the years but not a true ladder no reach like a ladder does.

when did west point get a squirt

[pump305 53]

Syracuse did order one KME 55ft squrt. A Quint has to have a 75ft ladder 1000gpm pump and 350 gal water tank. I forgot how much engine and truck equip it needs to carry.

[mfc2257 464]

Quint also needs (if I recall) 85 feet of ground ladders and a t least 800 ft of supply hose

[x129K 1,393]

And backstep seats so small you cant fit two guys in gear in them!

[JBE 328]

I would call it an Engine, with the addition of an operable elevated master stream. With a few Ladder Company thingies thrown in for good measure.

[wraftery 1,275]

A squirt is not a ladder, or else the people that bought them would have called them ladders. There are many good reasons for buying a Squirt. However, there are many more actual reasons some FDs have Squirts:

You have nothing over 2 stories in your district

Your governing body is saving money on manpower

You have so much money you just want all the bells and whistles on your engine

You never go inside to put a fire out

You never vent the roof

Your response time is so long it's through the roof by the time you get there it's thru the roof

You are using PPV on attack and are making everything go thru the roof

You never learned how to raise a ground ladder

Then again, if you have a lot of new developments with truss construction, you might want every rngine to be a Squirt.

[FireMedic049 597]

Questions.

Is an apparatus equipped with a TeleSquirt an Engine or a Truck?

Is the ladder on the device actually usable?

IMO at least, the typical TeleSqurt unit is really nothing more than an enhanced engine. Although you could put some "truck" equipment on it and the personnel arriving on it could perform "truck work" at a scene, the apparatus isn't a "truck" or really even a "quint" for that matter. The typical TeleSqurt only carries a ground ladder compliment consistent with that of an engine. The aerial device is typically not designed for use in the same fashion that the typical aerial ladder is and tends to be shorter since it's pretty much intended to only be an elevated master stream and not a platform for working or rescue.

Would a TeleSquirt be a better option for the more rural communities wanting a Quint?

Regardless of being rural, I think it would depend a lot on how the apparatus will be used as to whether a Quint or TeleSqurt is the better option. If all you want is the elevated master stream, then the TeleSqurt would probably be a better option in terms of cost, vehicle size and weight. If you want the ability to actually climb an aerial device to reach an upper floor or roof for rescue or to perform work, then the Quint would probably be the better option.

[dwcfireman 656]

I would call it an Engine, with the addition of an operable elevated master stream. With a few Ladder Company thingies thrown in for good measure.

It's more or less the same thing with our equipment at the airport. We have a Snozzle unit on Airport 7, and it's nothing more than just an elevated master stream. Granted, our Snozzle has more capabilities, like being able to be lowered to ground level for tactical advantage and a piercing nozzle to inject foam or clean agent to the interior of the aircraft withour firefighters dragging handlines inside the fuselage. The piercing nozzle, from what I've seen, has been adapted on some squirts to puncture a roof to attack attic fires in lightweight truss-construction houses. It it works for those departments, I'm for trying it out, but it still doesn't replace the skills and knowledge of the "truckie."