ARE AMERICAN FIRE TRUCKS TOO BIG?

-> As fire apparatus has become super-sized in the United States it has also has become more expensive. The average price of a Type I engine costs $400,000 to $600,000 and a 100-foot aerial ladder is over $1 million. With traffic congestion and rush-hour gridlock plaguing many of large metropolitan areas and winding streets littered with parked cars common in suburbia, there is now another aspect for public discussion regarding super-sized fire apparatus: how wide should the streets be in our cities? Do we need big and expensive trucks on the road for mostly medical calls and car wrecks? Fire apparatus used in Western Europe are highly maneuverable on the narrow, winding streets, and have a much smaller apparatus footprint than American rigs. Fire departments in Europe and Asia are using smaller rapid response vehicles as primary tools in their urban firefighting deployment strategies. http://bit.ly/1LxFbHv

from CenterLines, the e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling & Walking.

[B' Spokes: And because of these too big trucks some fire departments are actively engaged in fighting bike lanes and safer narrow travel lanes.]