By Mike McCombs
The Island News
The City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department’s newest fire truck had a hiccup on Friday.
While responding to a motor vehicle crash just before 12:30 p.m., at the intersection of Ribaut and Allison roads in the vicinity of Beaufort Memorial Hospital, the truck, just acquired in February, had a mechanical issue.
According to Deputy Chief Ross Vezin, this issue was “just an air line maintenance issue. It happened. They just stopped it where it was. The crew was able to work on scene to get it repaired and then back to the station.”
A second Beaufort/Port Royal fire truck was on scene, as were two Beaufort Police officers, who helped with traffic flow at the intersection. The ladder was raised to allow the cab to be lifted so the crew could access the air line.
“It’s like a new house,” Vezin said. “You find the quirks of them. It happened on scene, and there was nothing we could do about it.”
Vezin said the Department “immediately put another ladder truck into service” in case it was needed.
According to the City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department’s social media, “Ladder 2, a 2025 Pierce Enforcer Aerial, suffered a mechanical failure today while operating at a call for service. An air line ruptured causing the air brake system to lose pressure. When an air brake system loses pressure the brakes engage automatically as a safety mechanism. Without air pressure the brakes cannot be released.
“Thankful we have some of the best crews in the state and they were able to make a temporary repair to the air line to get the truck out of the road and back to Fire Station 2. Spartan Fire and Emergency Apparatus, our dealer and service center was contacted and immediately ordered the necessary parts to make repairs. The parts are expected to arrive next week. The truck will remain out of service until parts arrive and are installed.
“Since mechanical failures can happen at anytime, we also have a Reserve Ladder Truck that our crews will be operating in.”
The City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department welcomed its newest ladder truck with a traditional push-in ceremony on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026.
The new $1.6 million truck features a 107-foot ladder and on-board crash response tools that are battery-powered and ready to operate as soon as firefighters arrive on scene.
An individual custom build, the truck took the better part of two years from the time the City of Beaufort contracted for it until production was finished.
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
