By Neil Farrell

Morro Bay Fire Department’s new ladder truck arrived last Friday, and the crew is busy outfitting what the fire chief said will have a dual purpose.
Chief Steve Knuckles explained that the new 75-foot ladder truck was custom built for their needs. It has a shorter wheelbase, he explained, so it will be able to navigate any street in the city, including the roundabout. It will also be outfitted with all the tools of the trade — from rescue saws and Jaws of Life tools, to paramedic gear.
“This will be the second engine out on fire calls and the second or third paramedic vehicle going out,” he said Monday. “This will have all the tools we might need for a second [simultaneous] call out.”
The ladder truck — officially No. 5341 — was built by Pierce Manufacturing of Appleton, Wis., and cost some $774,000. Knuckles pointed out that the truck was paid for using a $1.1 million bequeathment to the department from the late Bertha Shultz, so it didn’t cost Morro Bay taxpayers anything.
He added that they plan to use the leftover money to buy new breathing apparatus, as the ones they have now are 12-years old and near the end of their useful lifespan.
“This donation was great timing for us,” he said. “I didn’t have to go to the City Council and ask for $250,000.” Readers might think that the Measure Q sales tax hike was taking care of the fire department, but Knuckles said they get about 40% of the roughly $900,000 a year from Measure Q. The police department, and street and storm drain repairs split the rest.
The new ladder truck, Chief Knuckles said, will be in service through at least 2045 (30 years) and adds to an impressive upgrading of the Fire Department that’s taken place over the past 8 years or so, after the December 2003 San Simeon Earthquake damaged the old stationhouse and turned a spotlight on the department’s plight.
The City built a new fire station on Harbor Street that cost several million dollars. Seven years go they got a new $400,000 fire engine with M-Q monies and five years ago they bought a new paramedic rescue truck for some $325,000, also out of Measure Q plus a large grant from the Hoag Family Foundation, which the Friends of the Fire Department secured. With this new $774,000 ladder truck, the department is looking pretty good for the next few decades.