Manteca’s biggest fire truck — a Pierce Arrow tiller truck that fully equipped cost $2 million — allows for more robust fire suppression for homes even on the city’s smallest streets.

The truck ordered in 2021 and delivered in June has been in service since earlier this month.

The time lag allowed all department firefighters to be proficient in operating the apparatus that has separate steering wheels for the front and rear wheels.

The dual steering is what allows it to navigate narrow or congested streets that a standard fire engine may not be able to maneuver through.

“In its first few weeks of service, the aerial has already been deployed to a structure fire,” Manteca Fire Chief Dave Marques said.

“The 107-foot ladder provides the department with the capability to reach high-rise buildings, including the top of Great Wolf Lodge, and offers practical access to the roofs of two-story homes.”

The tiller truck allows firefighters to deal with multistory fires and rescues given the city now allows 5-story structures.

The tallest building in Manteca is the Great Wolf Resort at 83 feet with the AMC Manteca 16 theater at Orchard Valley being the second tallest at 75 feet.

The tiller trucks’ value in saving lives and fire suppression can’t be overstated.

*It is the most flexible engine which allows it to navigate into areas that standard fire engines can’t.

*Tiller trucks have additional room to carry heavy specialized rescue equipment.

*They allow for quick ventilation of residential roof fires, a key procedure to minimize fire and smoke damage.

 *The trucks also are effective at combatting residential fires as they are able to get water on fires from above.

Beyond its ladder functions, the aerial tiller is equipped with over $270,000 worth of specialized tools, including extrication and stabilization equipment, which are often used at vehicle accidents on the 120 Bypass 120 and nearby roads. 

“ This addition enhances the department's ability to respond to a variety of emergencies with advanced capabilities and specialized equipment,” Marques stressed.

It replaces a 2008 Sutphen Quint aerial truck that has been in service 15 years. It has been experiencing maintenance issues.

That aerial truck is now part of Manteca’s reserve fire engine fleet.

Manteca is working to replace aging fire engines that are experiencing more issues as they get older.

Often times, they are replaced by reserve engines due to more down time for maintenance.

There have been occasions when firefighters are dispatched, the front line engine at their station has failed to start. That forces them to scramble to board the reserve engine.

There was one occasion when neither engine assigned to a station started, forcing an engine farther away to be dispatched to a call.

A fire engine has also broken down while enroute to an emergency.

Passage of the 20-year Measure Q three quarter of a cent sales tax will allow Manteca to step up its fire engine replacement effort.

The new tiller truck is assigned to the South Powers Avenue station.

The city is working toward shifting it to the Uhion Road station where a bay already exists to accommodate the truck. 

There are existing quarters to house the three firefighters per shift required to man the truck.

Union Road will likely have two fire manned 24/7 to help handle a large increase calls in the fast growing southwest section of the city.

Manteca is working toward creating nine more firefighter position to add what would be the city’s sixth engine company.

When a sixth fire station is built somewhere in the vicinity of Woodward Avenue and McKinley Avenue, The firefighters would be shifted to that location.

The sixth location  is expected to be designed to accommodate standard fire engines.