New Fire Engine for the Olean Fire Department
November 16, 2022—Olean—William J. Aiello, Mayor of the City of Olean, is pleased to announce that the
Olean Fire Department has added Engine 41 to its fleet. Built by Rosenbauer Group, the largest manufacturer of
fire apparatus in the world, and purchased through Empire Emergency Apparatus Inc. of Niagara Falls, NY, the
engine was designed by the City of Olean Fire Department’s Truck Committee with the special focus on safety
and performance in the city.
“The Fire Department worked hard with the manufacturer to design a truck that was compatible with the design
our streets. They also took injuries into consideration and added safety features to limit them. Weighing both
of these factors into the design will protect our residents and our professional firefighters, as well as hopefully
extend the life of the truck,” said Mayor Aiello.
“The truck has several safety features that are standard to fire apparatus but the committee also added input to
design the truck with lowest the possible hose bed, to minimize neck and shoulder injuries, while not sacrificing
the amount of water it can carry,” said Fire Chief Tim Richardson. “We added additional slip and fall prevention
with the addition of several hand rails and shelves and increased ground and scene lighting.”
“Operationally a heat deflection tray was mounted to prevent icing of the pump during cold weather operations.
A top mounted pump control was selected in order for the operator to view more of the scene as well as to keep the operator out of the street as much as possible,” Chief Richardson added.
“In addition the cab is configured with wireless headsets to maintain communications during response as well as
outside of the truck as needed. The exterior of the truck has multiple racking configurations to carry required
equipment in a neat and orderly fashion. The truck, while slightly taller than our other engines, had its wheel
based shortened for a tighter turning radius on narrow streets,” Chief Richardson added.
“We are pleased that we were able to order the fire engine when we did, prices and lead time have gone up
significantly,” Mayor Aiello added. The Common Council authorized the project on March 15, 2021. The final
cost was $573,637; to build the same truck today, the cost would be projected to be closer to $750,000.”
Chief Richardson added that Engine 41 will operate out of Fire Station One and should be in-service by the end
of next week, after members have become proficient in its use.