The City of Toronto alongside the city’s fire chief unveiled a new fire truck equipped with firefighting aerial apparatus which they say is the “tallest in North America.”
Standing at around 70 metres in full extension, this new piece of equipment is being nicknamed “Tower 1.”
Tower 1 can reach about 22 storeys high and will provide Toronto Fire Services “much-needed operational versatility and extra protection in a ‘vertical city’ that is expected to continue to grow in height and density over the coming decades.”
Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg and Toronto Mayor John Tory unveiled the truck on Wednesday outside of fire station 334.
The specialized truck will be stationed outside of the downtown fire station where there is the greatest density of highrise rises, officials said.
“Tower 1 will also provide Toronto firefighters with an unparalleled ability to get above and over top of buildings and to work around overhead obstructions that are common in the high-density urban areas of Toronto,” officials said.
However, they also said the truck can be redeployed and used for search and rescues, rope rescues at the Scarborough Bluffs, training and where there are other high rise fires in the city.