Overview
Bexar County Emergency Service District 12 is a combination department that serves 120 square miles of southeast Bexar County, TX, including the city limits of Saint Hedwig. The district serves the area with two stations that run 1500 calls annually. The department has responsibilities that include promoting fire education and prevention, as well as responding to fire, EMS, and rescue calls for service. The district also provides mutual aid to the surrounding ESDs. BCESD 12 is currently expanding its response abilities by adding a third station and additional staffing. For equipment, they operate one engine, one ladder, one squad, and a set of brush trucks.
The Truck
In mid-July of 2020, the district placed into service a 2020 Pierce 107’ Ascendant Ladder, built on a single axle Enforcer cab and chassis. During the design phase, the district determined that the truck would be used as a ladder, engine, and heavy rescue all-in-one vehicle. The Pierce Ascendant provided the reach of a large aerial apparatus, packed into a single axle. During the spec process, the committee decided to go with the black-out color scheme to eliminate the need for polishing of chrome surfaces, as well as to prevent reflection during daytime operations. The truck has several features in green color to allow for quick and unique identification. Additionally, the cab interior and all body compartments feature Night Spots paint coating.
As a ladder company, the truck features a 107’ ladder that is pre-piped to flow 1500GPM from the tip. In the rear, there is storage for 24’, 35’, and 10’ ground ladders, with an additional 16’ ladder up on the base section of the aerial. Multiple hooks and other truck company tools occupy the rear of truck ground ladder compartments and PUC pump area compartments, as well as the top of the front bumper storage.
Engine company features include a 1500GPM Pierce PUC pump with 500 gallons of water and 20 gallons of foam. There is 600’ of 5” hose stored to one side of the turntable and 300’ of 3” hose on the opposing side, both above the rear ladder storage compartments. Additional hose is stored by way of three cross-lay hose beds in the PUC pump area and a 150’ attack line on the front bumper. An additional small, but uncommon feature is an externally stored ground monitor above the driver-side pump panel area that is used for hooking up the 3” hose line.
Rescue features include a stokes basket on the side of the base section of the ladder and rope tie-offs at the tip. There is a full compliment of battery-powered hydraulic tools by Genesis Rescue Systems. The front bumper includes the chains and straps for use with the compliment of Res-Q-Jack stabilization equipment. All EMS equipment is stored in the cab, with interior and exterior access. To keep drugs and the interior of the cab cool, there is an auxiliary Danhard AC unit that operates while the truck is plugged into AC power at the station.
ESD 12 selected FireTech for all their scene lighting because, “The FireTech lights were brighter and built with quality.” They also took note of the lifetime advance exchange warranty. The front of the apparatus features the FireTech BG2 brow light, which is one of our newest products. This particular fixture is made up of 19 light modules placed along a rail that is designed by us for the specific cabs. This rail allows for optimal light fixture mounting on the cab to get the best performance from the 64,600 lumens produced by the fixture. Each side of the rig features two FT-MB-33 mini-brow lights, each producing 17,424 lumens. The truck also features FireTech headlights with integrated halos. On the aerial device, the tip features two, 9-LED work lights with combination optics. The base section also includes two of these fixtures, with all spot optics for tracking lights.
A huge thank you to Asst. Chief Padalecki for allowing us to feature his department’s new Ladder truck!
