Ladder 91 as it was put through the paces downtown in December. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Red Bank’s newest piece of firefighting equipment gets its formal introduction to the public this month.
Ladder 91, a million-dollar firetruck housed at Navesink Hook & Ladder Company on Mechanic Street, is scheduled be dedicated May 18.
Carrying a 103-foot aerial ladder, the vehicle replaces a 25-year-old truck for which replacement parts were no longer available.
The vehicle is packed with high-tech gadgetry, including side-view video cameras that enable the driver to extend the truck’s stabilizer arms from the cab into spaces as tight as the gap between two parked cars. A handheld remote enables a firefighter to train a hose atop the ladder on a fire from the ground. Its jaws-of-life equipment is lightweight and powered by lithium batteries, and no longer tethered by pneumatic hoses to the truck, thus extending the reach of the equipment and expediting rescues, firefighters said.
The dedication ceremony is scheduled from 1 to 5 p.m. on May 18 at the firehouse, at 7 Mechanic, and will feature live music by the Jukebox Criminals, free food and drink and a raffle of leather fire helmet.
Mechanic Street will be closed from Globe Court to Broad Street from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the event.
