Syracuse Sutphen Aerial Towers

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Chief, do you think SFD would ever consider the SPH100? I have worked off both and I think the SPH design is so much more modern and ergonomic.

 

During my tenure as Chairman of the Apparatus Advisory Committee, I made it clear that I was not interested in an SPH100 at all, although Sutphen always tried to sell us one. The vast majority of fireground injuries are slip-and-fall injuries, and the SPH100 design requires personnel to climb up on the rig to enter the basket. We can step right into the basket from the ground on ours. I had no interest in paying more money for a design that I felt was less safe for our firefighters.

 

Having said that, each municipality must decide for itself what apparatus is right for them. There are many departments currently using the SPH, and that's fine. That's their choice, and I'm sure they work for them. The SFD has chosen what works best for us. Whether or not that will ever change in the future is no longer in my control.