{"id":82377,"date":"2026-09-29T02:07:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T06:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/?p=82377"},"modified":"2026-09-29T02:07:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T06:07:22","slug":"genesee-county-le-roy-fire-dedicates-the-new-ladder-65-on-monday-evening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2026\/09\/29\/genesee-county-le-roy-fire-dedicates-the-new-ladder-65-on-monday-evening\/","title":{"rendered":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Le Roy Fire dedicates the new Ladder 65 on Monday evening"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Le Roy Fire Chief Craig Johnson and Assistant Chief Josh Pfendler with the new Ladder 65, the new “Beast of the East”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s a 100-foot aerial platform. It has a 2,000 gallon per minute tank pump on it with 300 gallons of water, and it’s equipped with fire and rescue capabilities too, so it’s kind of the jack of all trades truck that we put together,” says Chief Johnson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We put some execution tools on this truck. Sometimes in a fire, you might need to cut a gate or get into a rescue. Get into a residence easier. We put some battery-powered hydraulic tools on the truck, and also, we do have some airbags in the truck too. If this truck ever was in a situation where it was on the road and a car accident came in; it could go and help cut someone out of the car too.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cab is a little bigger than the old 65.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There’s more room for storage for gear for the members. It’s a little bit roomier for the guys when they gett in, and the cab of the truck sits higher. Before, when you were sitting in the old truck, your heads were about touching the ceiling of the truck. So, when you’re sitting in the seats, you have plenty of clearance.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new truck has been in the works since 2017. In 2022, the community was behind the new Ladder 65 after learning about the age of the old Ladder 65, a Baker Aerial model that came to Le Roy in 2002. Past Chief Rick Bater was chief when the department brought the old 65 to Le Roy. The cost in 2002 was just under $800,000. The new Pierce Ladder 65 cost is about $1.8 million. $800,000 in capital funds were used and $900,000 was bonded and financed. Chief Johnson says purchasing the truck did not raise taxes. The community voted to move forward with the purchase in 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what is the difference between the old 65 and the new 65.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Basically, just the technology is the biggest change. The truck itself, the ladder device, and that’s pretty much all the same, and that it sets up a little bit quicker because of the newer technology than what our old one did,” says Bater, who is a driver, a safety officer and a commissioner as well as a firefighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You’ve got more safety devices. You’ve got like your stabilizers coming out. Our old truck, they have to come out. You set it up, then you have to pin it to lock it in case you had a catastrophic failure. This automatically locks once you get it set. So, it sets up a lot quicker than what our old truck did.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n


There’s also a camera inside on the dash that shows where the stabilizers are coming out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“So, when I pulled it in tonight, I turned that camera on because I didn’t want to get in the grass being softer today. But you see how it slopes down. So, I wanted to keep it on a more solid surface where it’s a little more level.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The old 65, a Baker Aerial scope, has been sold to another town and still has some life in it at almost 25 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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