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Having Two Ladder Trucks Helped Fight Murray Fire

Having Two Ladder Trucks Helped Fight Murray Fire
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By West Ky Star Staff
Jul. 23, 2014 | MURRAY KY
By West Ky Star Staff Jul. 23, 2014 | 11:45 PM | MURRAY KY
In May, the Murray Fire Department took delivery of a brand new ladder truck.  At the time of the new truck’s arrival, a decision had not yet been made as to what should be done with the department’s older one.

Wednesday morning’s fire on the court square may have helped make the decision.   Upon the truck’s arrival in Murray, department fire fighters spent about 3 weeks learning how to use the Pierce Arrow Ladder XT truck, with its 500 gallon tank and 100’ ladder, before it was pressed into service in June. At the time, officials were still deciding whether to sell it or keep it, but the delay in that decision may have been a helpful one.

“Having both aerial trucks made a huge difference in fighting this fire,” Assistant Fire Chief Matthew Tinsley told reporters Wednesday morning. “There is no doubt that without both ladder trucks there would have been much more damage as a result of this fire.”

Having both fire trucks allowed the Murray Fire Department to fight the fire from two directions which was key in putting the fire out, as the inter-connected nature of the buildings on the square combined with the depth of the buildings involved, limited the fire fighters’ access to the blaze, of which the cause is still being investigated.

Currently both of the department’s ladder trucks are kept at station #2 on 16th street with the new one under roof and the old one being parked outside.  The question of as to how to provide a sheltered parking place for the additional truck was one of the issues that has had city officials wondering if they needed both trucks. 

Tinsley said that he had no idea what the final decision would be, but he thought that Fire Chief Eric Pologruto would be talking to the city administrator about the advantages that having both trucks provided in fighting Wednesday’s fire.

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