Jarrell Fire Rescue gets new aerial ladder

JARRELL, Texas - Jarrell Fire Rescue now has an aerial ladder. 

The ladder is 105 feet long. The truck weighs almost 80,000 pounds, and has a pump and a 500 gallon water tank. 

"Jarrell's expecting a lot of growth and with that is going to come buildings that rise up higher than one story. We have two, three, multiple story hotels, apartments, things like that coming," Chief Ron Stewart said. 

He says there are projections of the population growing anywhere from 20,000 to 60,000 people in the coming years.

"What we needed to do is find a piece of equipment that would not only serve as a pumper, like a regular fire engine, but also have a ladder on top," he said.

Stewart says the department had been discussing an aerial ladder for a couple of years, and they purchased it at half price from Jollyville Fire Department with just 13,000 miles on it.

"We consider it to be just broke in. They bought it, broke it in for us, then sold it to us," he said.

He says for two-story buildings, they've been able to use extension ladders, but it's easier to have an aerial ladder, especially as buildings get taller. Firefighters say it also helps with rescues, an escape route, and higher water streams. 

"It's a huge benefit for the department. I know at this moment right now everybody asks, why does Jarrell need a ladder truck, we don't even have buildings, but it's coming. They're coming quicker than we know," firefighter Trenton Hernandez said.