Page 7 - Mid Valley Times 12-12-19 E-edition

The View From Here
Juanita Adame
Sanger Fire welcomes new ladder truck
There are
a few phobias
I have in life, those are black widow spiders and heights. This introduc- tory sentence, minus the black widows, will make sense as I continue my story.
I went to visit the Sanger Fire Department on the morn- ing of Dec. 4 to talk to Fire Chief, Greg Tarascou about the city’s new ladder truck.
As I stepped into the bay where the truck was parked I couldn’t help but notice how big the truck was in compari- son to the city’s engine.
By the way, I’ve been cor- rected a number of times on the difference of the two, and now I understand that a ladder truck is different from a fire engine. Thank you Reedley Fire for clearing that up.
I began to talk to Daniel Aschenbrenner, a lieutenant with the department as he agreed to give me a tour of the truck.
“Come on, I’ll show you the ladder,” he said.
I agreed, after all, the truck was inside the bay, the ladder rests atop the truck and and it didn’t look very high from where I was standing.
I climbed up the side of the truck and was immediately taken back at how high, even just parked there, the truck re- ally is.
As I made my way across the ladder, and onto the buck- et, Aschenbrenner explained where the hose is, and how, when its extended, can be used as an elevated water way.
“We put a nozzle on it here, and we can control it,” he said as he turned a lever on the hose attachment.
I talked to Greg Tarascou and he filled in all the details on the department’s journey to purchase the truck.
Later that evening, a call came through that the Carl’s Jr. in Sanger had smoke com- ing from the roof.
It sounded like an interest- ing photo opportunity so I de- cided to drive out and see what happened.
Sure enough, the roof of Carl’s Jr. was smoking. Crews responded quickly and got the fire, later determined to be a fan or a vent that caught fire, under control.
One thing that stood out to me was a couple of firefight- ers who positioned a ladder on the side of the building.
While one of them held onto the ladder the other climbed up to the roof of the building. I was shocked at how easily they did it. Just a one-two-three and he was at the top.
See COLUMN on page A9
Crew members look up at the extended ladder of their new fire truck.
By Juanita Adame
Mid Valley Times
Parked inside the bay at the Sanger Fire Department is the crew’s newest resource; a Sea- grave firetruck, white in color, with a ladder that extends 100 feet into the air.
At one point in the city of Sanger’s history, Greg Tar- ascou, Sanger’s Fire Chief, said the idea for the new truck with an extendable ladder, was just that, an idea.
The need for a new lad- der truck had been presented by the fire department to the council for many years, often with no results.
“The infrastructure that we have here alone we need to invest in it,” said Tarascou on
Photos courtesy The Sanger Fire Department
Sanger's newest ladder truck arrived at the fire department on Nov. 27. The idea for the new truck has been in the works for nearly ten years.
the morning of Dec. 4. “When we talk about infrastructure in the city we always think about water, sewer and trash.”
“We don’t necessarily think about public service,” he con- tinued. “But that is also a part of it, and this is just another piece of infrastructure that we need to invest in to be able to provide for the citizens of Sanger today and also in the future.”
Nearly ten years later how- ever, and after many visits back to the drawing board, the idea was finally realized, and on November 27, it arrived.
“We researched the lad- ders, we researched the pumps, we had a couple differ- ent vendors we had been look- ing at,” said Tarascou. “Sea-
grave always came out on top but the only problem was that they were always overweight.”
According to their website, Seagrave is a company based in Clintonville, Wisconsin. They build custom fire trucks for departments all across the country as well as other heavy duty vehicles.
“One major issue with trucks like these in the state of California is the weight,”
he said. “Anywhere else in the United States, typically weight isn’t an issue.”
Tarascou said the goal was then committed to design a truck that was reliable and safe but also met the weight requirement in California.
According to California legislature, fire apparatus shall be weighed and certified by the manufacturer to deter- mine compliance, prior to ac- ceptance by the purchaser.
“Seagrave, for example, they’re a great company to purchase engines and trucks from,” he said.
“This [Sanger’s new truck] is called a quint, meaning that thereisapumponitandit
See TRUCK on page A8
“We researched ladders, we researched pumps, and had a couple different vendors be-
fore we made our choice.”
- Greg Tarascou, fire chief
More parade photos from around the valley
Rain doesn't stop Sanger's 72nd Annual Toyland parade
The parade in downtown Reedley has been a tradition during the Christmas season and always draws a large crowd of spectators.
Reedley's downtown lights up for Electrical Parade
Photos by Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
A lit up float including a sleigh from Darkside Kustoms also partici- pated in the annual parade.
ABOVE: Students from Quail Lake Charter School braved the rain as they participated in the annual Christmas parade.
RIGHT: Dancers from the Ballet Folklorico y Marimba de Fresno danced their "Navidad Tradicio- nal" through Sanger. Students begin to learn the traditional Mexican dances as young as 3 years old.
Photos by Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times