Willoughby Hills Fire Rescue members travel to see new fire engine chassis

Aug 05, 2023

Willoughby Hills Fire Rescue members recently traveled to Spartan Emergency Response in Charlotte, Mich., to look over the chassis for their new rescue fire engine.

Fire Chief Robert Gandee, Lt. Lou DiMattia, firefighter paramedic Steve Lucic and Zach Martin, one of the fire department's newest members, met with Spartan staff members, who took them through the chassis and the manufacturing campus.

The chassis will next to go to Brandon, S.D., to have the rear body assembled and mounted. Expected completion is July.

DiMattia was a part of the team that refined the plans for the new fire engine, and Lucic is in charge of the fire department's vehicle maintenance. With Martin being the department's training officer, Gandee wanted to make sure a least senior member of the department was in attendance to see the new chassis.

"As part of the succession plan, the idea is that they’re conditioned for the process so when it's time to do this again in another 10 years, we have people who have had exposure to it," Gandee said.

Willoughby Hills Fire Rescue members recently traveled to Spartan Emergency Response in Charlotte, Michigan to look over their chassis for their new rescue fire engine and to get a tour of the manufacturing campus. (Submitted)

Not only did fire rescue members get an opportunity to look over the chassis and its cab to make sure they were happy with it, but they got an opportunity to see the craftsmanship at Spartan Emergency Response.

"It was extremely impressive," Gandee said. "They’re turning out roughly 60 fire truck chassis a month, so it keeps things pretty busy. There are a lot of different communities, different needs for their fire apparatuses and conglomeration of ideas, concepts and color schemes. The staff was friendly and they seem to have a good system, and they were showing signs that they’re constantly refining their production methods."

"We looked at a number of different manufacturers," he said. "I think we looked at eight to ultimately build our engine and we put a huge spreadsheet together to compare all the advantages and disadvantages that we felt were important aspects to consider.

"It gave us a wide spectrum of different ideas, and the reality is, we also looked at the cost," he added. "Due to the hyperinflation, we’ve seen an increase in a matter of months — around $75,000 from the time we finalized what we wanted until the time we purchased. Thankfully, we got in before things skyrocketed."

When purchasing a fire engine that's typically $450,000, that's a significant impact, Gandee said.

"This engine's a little bit special," he said. "We paid a little bit more for it because it's got a stainless body, a galvanized frame rail, stainless steel fuel tank and it's going to be undercoated.

"We’ve been facing corrosion issues being in Northeastern Ohio," he added. "We wanted to build something that was going to last the test of time and be able to handle the harsh environments it's got to operate in."

The new fire engine has the latest safety equipment and cameras for firefighters to use.

"When our firefighters are exiting, they will be able to have access to live video footage to see what traffic conditions are," Gandee said. "It's got a light tower on it because of the accidents we’re on, an emergency warning light system that will dim and go to a slower flash pattern so it's not distracting. This rig gives us a lot more opportunity."

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