The overpass is too short for regular fire trucks

The city of Terrebonne had to shop all the way to Minnesota to find a free-access fire truck for a sector of its territory with a highway bridge problem.

The questionable sector of Île Saint-Jean in the Rivière des Mille-Îles, with a maximum height of 13 feet under the Highway 25 bridge, slowed firefighters’ work as every minute counted during the fire.

“In Quebec I’ve seen fire trucks stick ladders under overpasses and completely destroy a ladder park. [ensemble du système échelle]”We met the new truck under the Ile Saint-Jean overpass,” explained Sylvain Dufresne, Director of the Terrebonne Fire Department (SSIT).

“Hitting the overpass would cost about $125,000 in damage,” he said.

And it can take 6 to 9 months to repair a ladder, Mr. According to Dufresne, this translates into fewer vehicles answering 2,000 calls a year in a city.

“Usually, overpasses are a little higher than that, the fire department director underlined. with a [modèle] Oath, it is necessary […] to come down [la nacelle] And that compromised the driver’s visibility.”

And, he noted, “the fire truck is still swinging.” “When the driver drives at a very low speed the nacelle moves slightly, so it can hit the viaduct.”

Mr. According to Dufresne, it is still possible to access the Île Saint-Jean sector with a normal truck, “but you have to go through Laval to return to our territory”.

SSIT recently acquired a ladder truck from manufacturer Rosenbauer with a low-profile platform that provides an additional 8 inches of maneuverability for the vehicle and its equipment.

According to Mr. Dufresne, the purchase of such a truck is the first in Canada.

“A low profile, something I’ve never seen in my 32-year career, he told us. I think it’s a product that meets the realities of fire services in Quebec.”

To handle this acquisition, SSIT sent a team to Minnesota to the American subsidiary of Austrian fire truck manufacturer Rosenbauer. In addition to the low-profile truck, the department purchased three other trucks from this company for a total of $5.1 million.

In addition, SSIT is currently inviting tenders for a new pumper to be delivered in 2025 to replace the aging equipment.