The purchase of TDA for Fairfax County has been sparked by the hiring of the new fire chief, hired away from neighboring Montgomery County, MD (a sense of deja-vu for anybody who remembers the early 1980's).
My own two cents on the subject: Imagine a sample from each decade (1960's, 1970's and early 1980's) of the tractor-drawn aerials purchased by Fairfax County (anywhere for that matter): all they have done is gotten bigger. Any maneuverability gained by having a tiller will be lost in the overall length of the vehicle because, knowing Fairfax County well enough (28+ years on the job), it will have to be re-invented from the ground up and have to carry more stuff than any volunteer-owned TDA between North Carolina and Long Island NY (yes, this includes Pennsylvania). Unlike DC proper, parts of Old Town Alexandria and Arlington County, there are few places in the Realm of Fairfax County that demand a TDA. I would be willing to pit any of our seasoned, regular, rear-mount aerial drivers and their rig against a prototype of the TDA to be delivered. (I'm having a vision of a tandem rear axle tractor a la Pacific Northwest, monster ladder w/an immense tip load and betting it would go to the 4th Battalion.
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I plan on seeing some Fairfax County people next week, I will try to separate the wheat from the chaff and then off to OC for MSFA parade.
My own two cents on the subject: Imagine a sample from each decade (1960's, 1970's and early 1980's) of the tractor-drawn aerials purchased by Fairfax County (anywhere for that matter): all they have done is gotten bigger. Any maneuverability gained by having a tiller will be lost in the overall length of the vehicle because, knowing Fairfax County well enough (28+ years on the job), it will have to be re-invented from the ground up and have to carry more stuff than any volunteer-owned TDA between North Carolina and Long Island NY (yes, this includes Pennsylvania). Unlike DC proper, parts of Old Town Alexandria and Arlington County, there are few places in the Realm of Fairfax County that demand a TDA. I would be willing to pit any of our seasoned, regular, rear-mount aerial drivers and their rig against a prototype of the TDA to be delivered. (I'm having a vision of a tandem rear axle tractor a la Pacific Northwest, monster ladder w/an immense tip load and betting it would go to the 4th Battalion.
)I plan on seeing some Fairfax County people next week, I will try to separate the wheat from the chaff and then off to OC for MSFA parade.
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