The City of Houston Fire Department’s Pierce Quantum ladder truck that was damaged in a single-vehicle accident May 13 at Texas County Memorial Hospital should be back in service by late August or early September.
Houston FD Chief Joey Moore said he received preliminary estimate from Pierce on May 29 indicating the cost of repairs would be $29,613. The company’s assessment indicated damage was done to the truck’s body and a couple of pipes running to its pump, but there did not appear to be any damage to the pump itself.
Moore said an insurance adjuster on June 2 gave the go-ahead to proceed with the repairs. The truck is being fixed at Pierce’s headquarters in Appleton, Wis.
“I spoke to a Pierce representative on June 10 who stated there were a couple of minor additional items found to be repaired since the initial estimate,” Moore said, “but the truck is scheduled to be completed by Aug. 28 if not sooner.”
The Mountain Grove Fire Department’s ladder truck went down at about the same time as Houston’s, but was put back into service last week. So for a while the closest similar unit was some 50 miles away, in Seymour or West Plains.
“We do have one a little closer to us now,” Moore said. “So far, we have not had any calls where the truck would have been a necessity. The ladder truck is a very valuable asset to the department and the community. We are definitely looking forward to having it back as soon as possible.”
Speculation after the mishap (in which the truck hit a pillar holding up the awning over the hospital’s drop-off lane) was that the repair bill might have been many times higher, and the truck could have been gone until winter.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Moore said.