Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Nature:  Aerial Apparatus Demo & Familiarization

Location:  Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company

On Wednesday evening, April 22^nd, Tower 80 (Indian River) and Tower 42 (Carlisle) assisted the Rehoboth Beach (86) with an aerial truck demo and familiarization process because they are preparing for the delivery of their new 2026 Pierce specialized Tower 86-7 aerial apparatus. This new tower truck is a 100-foot Ascendant mid-mount platform designed to modernize their fleet and replace an aging tower truck that has reached the end of its 25-year service life.

To ensure operational readiness, Rehoboth Beach members often engage in collaborative training and familiarization which invited Indian River and Carlisle to bring their aerial units to Rehoboth Beach. The mutual aid partnerships frequently encourage and assist neighboring departments like Rehoboth Beach through shared training initiatives and incident responses.

Such aerial training and familiarization is critical for their new equipment, as standard aerial operation courses in Delaware typically involve 18 hours of instruction covering vehicle stabilization and device operation to NFPA 1002 standards.

Rehoboth’s new unit is very similar to these trucks and provided an opportunity for collaboration and for their membership to become acclimated with the units in preparation of the truck’s arrival.

Tower 80 - Pierce 100' Ascendant Arrow XT Mid-Mount Aerial Truck - https://irvfc.com/apparatus/detail/42364

Tower 42 – Pierce 100’ Ascendant Arrow XT Mid-Mount Aerial Truck - https://www.carlisle42.com/apparatus/detail/43180