Greensburg Fire Department sells dual-driver ladder truck

The Greensburg Fire Department’s tractor-drawn ladder truck will be heading south.

City council last week unanimously approved selling the 2012 truck to Charleston, S.C., for $750,000, said administrator Kelsye Milliron.

The department has had that type of ladder truck for about 70 years, but with fewer volunteers, there isn’t enough manpower to drive it anymore, fire officials have said. The tractor-drawn truck requires two drivers, one in the front cab and a second at the independent rear axle, allowing for better maneuvering in tight streets.

The cabs are about 57 feet apart and the two drivers communicate over a radio headset. The rear driver does not have any foot pedals.

Council in February approved the $425,000 purchase of a used 2011 ladder truck from the Town Line Volunteer Fire Department, outside of Buffalo, N.Y., to replace the tractor-drawn model. Although the Town Line truck is a year older, the ladder is slightly longer and it has a larger capacity for water pumping.