Butler Fire Department Lt. Scott Marshall (left) and firefighter Jeff Scott speak about the importance of the department's ladder truck, which is sidelined with a bent ladder and has undergone repeated repairs and break-downs over the past several years.

As city officials consider how to address the latest breakdown of the Butler fire department's ladder truck, firefighters say the vehicle is a vital piece of equipment that the company can't do without.

During an interview last week the department's two in-house mechanics, firefighter Jeff Scott and Lt. Scott Marshall, called the ladder truck the most expensive piece of equipment for the fire company to maintain, and said repeated breakdowns in recent years have created a frustrating situation for the department.

Marshall said the vehicle, which is 18 years old, has been experiencing recurring problems during the past three years. Some of the breakdowns have covered extended periods — Marshall said the truck's last issue was a hydraulic failure which put it out of service for a year and a half — and have kept it out of some high-profile emergencies.

[naviga:iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6PCC3gXxjYE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen][/naviga:iframe]

On March 11, 2016, as firefighters fought a blaze at the Worsley's building on Main Street, the truck was off getting its state inspection, Marshall said, having received $80,000 in work to put it back in service.

The ladder truck was in service and on the scene March 25 when a fire destroyed much of the 127-year-old building at 339 Center Ave., but suffered more mechanical damage. Scott said a nozzle firefighters use to spray water from the top of the ladder was damaged and has been sent out for an estimate of repair costs. Scott said he wasn't sure how the nozzle was damaged.

Another issue with the truck — and the one that has currently sidelined it — are multiple bends in its 105-foot extendible latter. The bends were found when the truck failed its mandatory five-year weight distribution tests earlier this year, Marshall said.

He and Scott called it a vital piece of rescue and firefighting equipment in a city where apartment buildings and other structures reach as high as eight stories. Firefighters not only need the truck to access tall buildings, but to flow water into hard-to-reach places, like roofs.

“It's a major piece for the city,” Scott said. “We need it for rescue operations in these fires. This is absolutely a necessity in the city.”

Butler officials have said they are unsure how much repairs to the truck's ladder might cost. Because the vehicle is old and the company which made it — American LaFrance — is closed, replacement parts must be made specially and on-demand when a breakdown occurs.

Marshall said that while the city's ladder truck is down firefighters will have to rely upon Fire District Station 3 in Butler Township and Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company, which are the two nearest departments that have ladder trucks.

He also said the truck's breakdowns don't only affect the city. The vehicle has been on the scene of fires throughout the region for nearly two decades, Marshall said, and having it sidelined means other departments have one less emergency vehicle to rely upon during a fire call.

“This is a mutual aid vehicle,” Marshall said. “It affects not only us, (but) everybody.”