Ladder truck certification

The Gainesville City Council approved Gainesville Fire Chief Kevin Piland’s request to spend up to $1,000 for a required ladder truck certification. 

Piland was at the meeting and said that the National Fire Protection Association requires that all ladder trucks be tested and certified each year before continued use.

“They test for stress cracks being bent, hydraulic problems, make sure its pumping the amount of water it should be out of the end of the ladder. Then they test it for weight so its safe for us to be on it,” Piland said. At last certification, the Gainesville ladder truck was certified for up to 400 pounds, which he says is basically one firefighter in gear. He said that could change with this year’s certification. 

Piland told the council members that he’s been shopping around, and he’s found that price quotes for the service vary quite a bit, ranging from under $1,000 to as much as $6,000. 

One company he talked with, STI Services, from Searcy, Arkansas, told Piland they could do both the one-year and five-year required certification at the same time. For Gainesville’s truck, they said it would cost $750 for the ladder truck test and certification and a $25 fee for the hydraulic oil sample test. The company also said that it plans to come to Springfield to perform tests there sometime in May, and if Gainesville could schedule its test so they could do it on their way there or back, they would offer a discount. 

The city council voted unanimously to allow Piland to spend up to $1,000 for the ladder truck certification. 

The council also discussed purchasing fire department shirts for volunteer firefighters and approved a request to purchase coffee and cookies for a Missouri Department of Conservation wildfire training the GVFD is hosting this week. Piland said he expected 60 or more firefighters from several different departments.