new $750,000 Meredith fire truck
 

Did anyone see the new Meredith fire truck today? It was spraying water out onto the lake at the Town Docks boat launch.

It is bright red, looks like a fire truck, and after doing a gogle search: it is probably a 2009 Pierce Arrow XT 100', rear mount tower, with a 2000 gallon per minute water pump.

The same model truck is in use by cities like PIttsburg, Philadephia, and New York.

You know how most extension ladders have two sections.....well....this tower truck has three extensions because it has a height of 100'. That is a lot of fire truck!

100'??
 

Wow, 100' Thats 10 stories! Whats the tallest building in Meredith???

Keeping up
 

Meredith is probably keeping up with Loudon. As Baer gave the Loudon an awesome ladder truck so he can protect his bleachers at the speedway :rolleye2:

As I understand it, when Bob and Gary Bahre were trying to get approval to build NHIS, the Loudon Fire Chief wanted to restrict the height of the stands to something like 35 rows. That would not have been enough seats for the deal to work, plus the best seats are the rows at the top, the higher the better.

When asked why the 35 row limit, the Fire Chief said that his present ladder truck would only go that high and if for some reason they needed to access the top rows, he would not be able to do it. Bob asked if he had a ladder truck that would be able to reach 50 rows, would that resolve the problem.

When the Fire Chief said if he had a ladder that would go up high enough for 50 rows, he would have no problem with agreeing to 50 rows. Bob asked how much the truck would cost, and when hearing the answer of about $250,000 turned to his son Gary, saying write the man a check.

With the Fire Chief now on board, the permit to build what was NHIS was approved and issued. There is a plaque on the fire truck with the date the Bahre's donated the money to buy it, thhe same date the building permit was issued.

Hard to believe it, but the ground breaking was in August 1989, more than 20 years ago.

R2B

Nice Fire Truck...
 

......and they never even sent me a thank you note!!:laugh:

Why should they, you're not done paying for it.;)

Buying and using a specialized piece of equipment like this isn't made to keep up in a "race" with the neighboring towns. It is a well planned, time consuming researched decision to buy a piece of safety equipment that will best serve and protect the townspeople and their property forthe next 25 years. This truck is a great buy for a town like Meredith. Certain insurance industry standards require that a elevated ladder or tower be within the area insured or the rates go up and up to insure property. This truck will serve both the Meredith of now and the next twenty five years. It is a well thought out purchase and kudos to the town and MFD for their progressive purchase!

CG13,
100' tower sounds tall but when it has to be set up, in most cases will reach the sixth floor of a high rise. A operator needs to figure out the scrub zone (collapse zone) of a building and set the truck in a safe location. If laddering the building for rescue, the operartor has to take into consideration parked cars, trees and other hazzards while he looks to set up for mulitple picks. So 100' is a good choice.

Voting 5-0, all five selectmen agreed to purchase this new tower truck at a 5:30pm, Monday monthly selectboard meeting in September, 2008.....as I recall, reading in the LaDaSun.

I don't know a whole lot about the mechanics of town purchasing, but $750,000 sure seems like a big ticket item. If it had been voted on, at the March town meeting, at about 11:30pm, by a show of hands, it most likely would have been voted 'Yes.' By voting on it as a yes or no question on the private paper ballot, at the all-day, 7am-7pm March voting polls, a predicted passage is unpredictable.

In the last eight years, Meredith has added: a new, huge community center, a new, huge police station, a new school football field, new baseball, soccer fields & six tennis courts, a new town hall annex, a new huge fire station remodel, and the latest....a new 100' tower truck.

What's next? Meredith does not have an indoor swimming pool or a year-round, indoor ice skating arena! An indoor sports complex with both a pool and an ice arena would be very nice.

And, the Meredith population is about 6000 residents that seems to be over-weighted with age 50+ folks.

So, where's all the money come from to pay for all these very, very, very nice town improvements? Does Meredith have an anonymous 'Warren Buffet' living quietly in Meredith somewhere.....who enjoys signing very, very, very big donation checks?

Oh: Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the biggest Meredith town check writer of them all? Is it you, or is it me, or is it that guy over there hiding behind that tree? :):D:)

....correction........Yosemite......you should have said

"It sure is a beauty:".....a truck is a machine or a motor vehicle and is an "It" as opposed to a "She."

Vehicles being called she dates back to the days of wooden ships. Always called she. We carry that forward to today. Also dates back to men being in control of most vehicles. Train conductors, ships captains, Heavy equipment operators, big rig drivers etc. So hence vehicles called a she. I prefer to think of it this way...
Because they purrr when they're handled nicely, are temperamental when you don't look after them properly. And if you're willing to lavish money on them they can look pretty sexy.:D

funny, that there will always be negative comment or thought to anything.
I think that the ladder truck is a good thing. regarding height, while fighting a fire a safe distance from the building is one and one half times the height away from the structure of the height of the building to safetly reach the structure. if a (one) person's life is saved I would not care what the cost of the truck is.

Well said Coolbreeze

I remember reading last spring about Meredith calling a meeting on how to spend money. My town has meetings about how to not spend money. As an island property owner all I want from Meredith is a place to park my car when on the island and to be able to dispose of my trash. It doesn't appear that Meredith goes without anything. I'm sure its like this in other towns where there's a significant non-resident tax base.

Not trying to make any comparisons here....Probably off topic..BUT.. My town of 15,000 population has a tower truck that is At Least as impressive as the Meredith truck.......AND we have a new $3m Wind Turbine. I really LIKE the Turbine....I'm an engineer...engineers like mechanical stuff..BUT, I am getting old and won't have to help pay for it for long...the Children and Grandchildren in my town will pay for it.

http://www.portsmouthri.com/frames.htm

BTW: I hate to mention this...I really like the turbine now..even though as a taxpayer, I voted against it... The Turbine Website has become Much Less Candid in the last few weeks about what has been going on at the turbine site. The website used to be easy to navigate...now I can't figure it out. There have been extended periods when the Turbine (1.5 Mega Watts) has been "Silent"....not running. !.5 Mega Watts is a VERY LARGE Turbine. You don't get much bigger.

We have another privately owned Turbine (650 KW) less than a mile away that runs all the time when there is any kind of wind at all. This turbine is owned by Portsmouth Abbey, a private Prep School. They are NOT connected to the grid.

Just an observer. NB

You are absolutely correct in this assessment. My town here in MA purchased a new (well, 1 year old) tower truck this spring for $750,000 as well. It replaced a 30 something year old truck. The need for the truck is not because we have that many tall buildings in our town but it is based on insurance requirements and mutual aid agreements with neighboring communities that may have tall buildings.

As I recall, that particular line item sailed through town meeting in the Spring with no debate.

...hey bigpapi....what's the latest on Meredith's metamorphosing from an on-call, volunteer fire dept to a full time, 24-hour, paid fire dept like the Laconia F.D. .....got any scuttlebutt?

Well, it seems to me it's not your job to worry about mutual aid to other towns.
Personally I think these towns need to start thinking about what is absolutely necessary rather than what is really nice to have. We all need to do that in our private lives. If towns don't start thinking about the taxpayers, pretty soon people will leave and the towns won't have all these nice things-nobody to pay for them. Most people can only afford so much in taxes.

The gender identification is a cultural thing. In Asia, ships are "He."

Ladder trucks can be used for more than reaching high buildings. There are some houses built on high embankments. They will be accessible by the tower truck for evacuation purposes. The narrow driveways and back roads will be limited to standard engines and crews.

Also, the same could be said for brush fires in similiar terrain. A quick response by a tower truck could knock down a blaze before it spreads.That's why most tower trucks have nozzles on top now.

Very Close
 

You are very close with this story, the only thing missing is that Loudon did not have a per se "ladder truck" that needed to be replaced. They did not have one at all. If you remember the old fire station next to the library had two overhead doors and neither were tall enough for a ladder truck, and the old secondary station on Lower Ridge Road is the size of two car garage and house two support vehicles only.

The great thing was Bob and Gary donating the truck, the bad thing was the taxpayers of Loudon having to fit the bill for the new safety complex to house the new ladder truck.


When I hear folks say what could you possibly need a 100' tower for in Meredith, two complexes come to mind, Millsfalls and Church Landing. Think about how they would combat a fire on the upper stories of those buildings combined with the set back from the road, seems like a no-brainer to me.

For anyone that has shopped for a tractor for a farm, you will know, but it is always easier to do a small job with a big tractor than a big job with a small tractor.

To all of you who are complaining about Meredith getting a new truck - I'm sure if it were your house or building on fire, you would want the best equipment available to try to save your building or even more so to save your life or the life of a loved one!

Your post has re-arranged the gray matter between my ears! :)

You are right, there was no pure ladder truck. I am also sure the donated truck was the tip of the iceberg. The place to house it had to cost much more than the truck. However, Loudon must have made some gain from having the track there, as far as increase in tax base.

I do know that the donation of the ladder truck is what allowed the project that became NHIS to move forward. I just cannot believe that was 20 years ago. Time is moving way too fast!

You are also right regarding the need to cover the large buildings in Meredith often loaded with people. I am not a Meredith tax payer. I pay my NH taxes in Laconia, but I believe it was a justifiable purchase when you consider the Mills Falls and Church landing complexes. Mills falls is tall, Church Landing is large with a lot of the building that is very hard to access from the land side.

Next will come the big fire boat. ;)

R2B

I agree with jmen24 about needing the ladder truck to protect the hotel properties. I just wish Meredith would practice some restraint with some of their other projects. One project that seemed to be met with extra scrutiny was buying snowmobiles to get over to the islands in winter. To an island property owner that's one project that I supported. If I remember correctly I believe they ended up being donated.

Do any of the area towns or the Marine Patrol have any small hovercraft to get to the islands or disabled boats during times of partial ice-in and ice out?

'Seems to me if they're looking to spend more money, those hover thingies could fit the bill nicely and they'd be far cheaper than a helicopter :)

I seem to recall seeing a few such hovercraft parked by the Maine Forest Service building on Moosehead Lake in Greenville once.

Loudon did do well with the tax revenue from the track for the first few years and then about 9 years ago (time frame may be off a bit) they changed the track to a seasonal venue and their tax burden was cut by more than half. Loudon then got to pick up the rest of the bill.

I can tell you that I am not complaining one bit regarding what Bob Bahre did for the town and I think you would be hard pressed to find a resident of the town that had anything bad to say about him. He was a very nice guy, on and off his grounds. You will see a very different feeling in the next few years from Speedway Inc., things are going to change alot in that area.

When I worked at the track in my first real job at age 14 I remember walking through the grandstand area to the concession stand I worked in and was approaching Bob and a few managers. As they passed a barrel that had been slightly over filled with trash, one of the managers TOLD (key word) me to take care of the barrel and put a new bag in it. As I started over to the barrel Bob stopped me and looked at his manager and proceeded to tell him that it was not my responsibility to replace the bag and if he noticed it he needed to change it, Bob then proceeded to change the bag himself and we never saw that manager again.

Tis, you are way off base in your opening statement to bigpapi about not worrying about his neighbors. Mutual aid from neighboring communities helps keep your taxes down and actually helps keep you safer. Just as Bigpapi is concerned for his neighbors; they in return, are thinking of theirs and so on. This is why it is called mutual aid and it works, regardless of the monetary cost.

Hovercraft can have a problem operating on water during Freezing Temperatures. The spray being blown out from under the craft Freezes on everything on board.... including the windshield and cockpit enclosure, making operation dicey. ICE everywhere. :( NB

Most towns buy for themselves but are glad to help the others out. "Regardless of the monetary cost?" That's exactly why our taxes are so high!
I believe Tuftonboro has an airboat or a hover craft or some such type.

Ah, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks

Tis, I agree with you on dis-agreeing with the tax and spend attitude of past within our towns and moreover, government.
However, you can't stop progress by not investing in equipment and technology that lasts up to 20 years and improves the lives of so many in our towns. My post to you earlier stated that mutual aid between towns benefits all and I firmly believe that it does.It should "not be worried about". It would be irresponsible to deny a smaller town the aid of protection that a specialized peice of equipment provides. We as firefighters look beyond the tax dollar and see how we can get to an emergency the quickest and safest. All the while putting in place special pieces of equipment that may make our efforts safer and faster for all. Anyway, a town that doesn't have the need for a full time specialized piece will call on other towns who own and have the need for the use of that specific piece, as in the case of Ladder trucks, hydroplanes etc. Mutual aid works, and it works well. When a town gets called upon too much on their piece of equipment, one chief goes to the other chief and has a discussion. In most cases the chief without the piece, seeing the increased need, begins the process of buying one. Please remember, the firefighters and police that use these pieces of equipmnet are in most cases tax paying residents. In this economy, we agree that our funds need to be streched as far as we can.

....teeth before a tower truck!
 

Ya know the four, five, and six story hotels along that Meredith waterfront that are targeted for emergency service by the new 100' tower truck probably all have sprinklers, central smoke alarms, 24-hr front desks and steel girder construction..

Instead of spending $750,000 for this new aerial tower, I respectively suggest the overall well being of the town's residents would be better served if the money was spent on tooth care.....ie dental care and oral hygene and teeth care education.

With three different dentists located right in Meredith, the children and adults would be better off with tooth care, preventive dental medicine, and oral hygene than a 100' tower truck. The fire dept already had about five different pumper and ladder trucks, and a 100' tower truck is more suited for an urban area.

What would you rather have....good teeth when you are 88.....or a 30-year old, bright red, tower truck? :rolleye1:

Your hospital emergency room provides no service for dental care. They tell you that you need to see a dentist. The town has an ambulance service so why not a dental program?

Does the town employee, police, teacher and 5 selectmen's "Cadillac" health insurance plan contain dental insurance? What do you think? Yes, it does!

Do you have dental insurance?

How come the town can spend $750,000 for a big red truck and zero for an adult and child dental program?

Spray'en in the wind...
 

'Had what I think is my last tow to Meredith launch ramp when I came up to a 100 foot ladder truck blowing water from the Lake back into the Lake!

It doused my boat but good. What FUN!

My only concern is that now Moultonborough will want one.

Misty Blue.

You have a point there. Laconia just teared down a middle school that was 40 years old for a brand new one that doesn't hold any more students than the old one. Now they want to build a new high school when the old high school had 1200 students 50 years ago. Now it houses 800 students! With the unemployment rate high in Laconia, this rate does not include the 'underemployment' folks as well as those who went from full time to part time. With foreclosures up and many people can not afford their taxes, we have a school board that is still looking for a new high school! I'd say give it a rest until the economy is better! Lynch is doing his part in reigning in the state spending. Why can't the local communities do the same?????

Why not free cars or free gasoline to get to our jobs or ....


We need LESS giveaways, how about those people give up their insurance to lower our taxes?

You have that right !!


I second your feelings.

I used to think a big ladder truck in our town was excessive untill a neighbor on a street next to my house (facing my side yard) had a small fire in the back of the house. A one story house. The engine was first on scene and went a little past the house which I thought was strange. He knocked down the fire with a 3/4 inch precharged line. Seconds after the engine arrived the big ladder arrived and stopped in the street directly in front of the house. The ladder was extended over the yard and over the house untill the gun on the ladder was facing the rear of the house. He was ready to hit it with a serious blast if needed or put a hole in the roof to vent it if needed. My neighbor had minimal damage and somehow that big ladder did not seem excessive anymore.

...not enuf boom for the buck!
 

At $750,000 the 100' tower truck is not enough boom for the buck. Considering the town already had two fire stations and 4-5 existing fire trucks, does it really need this very expensive new truck?

Spending the same money over a twenty year period on a Meredith resident dental hygene program would be much more effective. A dental hygene program would reach out to improve the health of many residents, and definately save and lengthen many more lives than a fire truck.

I'm not talking about having the town pay for dental surgery like root canals, fillings, or crowns. What I am talking about is a program that teaches and introduces good tooth care and introduces people to the dentist. With a number of fine local dentists some type of a town program could be set up.

A lot of people just let their teeth go until they end up at the emergency room. With increased availability of town assisited dental check-ups and cleaning, it would start people on the route to better health and longer & stronger lives.

Much better for the town to invest in individual health care like oral hygene than in an expensive new fire truck. More will benefit and more lives will be saved!;):);)

But what if the dentist office burned down because the old ladder truck couldn't reach it?:confused:Dental insurance paid by the town but nowhere to have your teeth fixed.:laugh::laugh:

Come on Less, the $750,000 fire truck is a one time, 20 to 40 year investment. Your proposed dental plan is a $750,000 per year boondoggle that will undoubtedly cost 2 to 3 times what you initially estimate.

What's the matter, you got a toothache?

The 2007 Census estimate for Meredith, NH was 6616 residents.
If everyone in Meredith went to the Dentist just to have thier teeth cleaned it would cost the town @ $661,600. Then if some of the people needed xrays taken, you can add another $400,000 to that.
Total bill for that year just for general maitenance would be well over 1 million.
Then you have to tack on another million to have someone run the program which would bring the bill up 2 million.

I think you have been hanging around with Obama too much!

I would rather pay a one time charge of $750,000 for a fire truck.