It's 43 feet long, 8 and a half feet wide, 10 feet 11 inches tall and weighs between 30 and 45 tons. That's only the beginning of the staggering list of statistics that describe Radnor Volunteer Fire Company's new ladder truck.

The truck, which took just over a year to build in Michigan, North Dakota, and Minnesota, arrived in Radnor Tuesday morning. Volunteer firefighters spent much of Wednesday getting acquainted with the ins and outs of the custom- designed rig.

Radnor Fire Co. Chief Jim Kelly says the truck is really several fire trucks in one. It has a one hundred foot long ladder, a powerful water pump capable of pumping two thousand gallons of water per minute, carries 500 gallons of water, and it can be used in different rescue operations. It was built to Radnor Fire company's specifications by Rosenbauer, which the chief described as "the world's largest fire apparatus maker."

Kelly says the truck chasis was built in Michigan, the body was installed in Minnesota and the 100 foot ladder was installed in the Dakotas. He says the pump, which can spray two thousand gallons of water per minute, was built in Conshohoken

Assistant Fire Chief Mike Maguire  says taking delivery on the new truck "is like Christmas." He says the the hardest thing now is figuring out the places to store equipment on board for quick and efficient access. "It's a like a Rubics Cube. You need to find out what fits in what compartment and how the layout (of equipment) is going to come out." Maguire says designing it was like designing a Lego set, choosing from a range of custom options from storage compartments (including in one in the front bumper), to placement of flashing warning lights.

Maguire says the ladder truck that's being replaced has been sold to a fire company in Canada. The sale will help pay some of the cost of the new rig. Radnor Township Commissioners voted to pay $600,000 of the cost. Chief Kelly says the balance of the $850,000 will come in low interest loans from the State of Pennsylvania and from private donations and fundraising efforts.

The new truck will not be on the street for several more weeks. Kelly says the time will be used to train drivers and firefighters on the ins and outs of the new ladder truck. Maguire says ultimately about twenty firefighters will be certified to drive it. The truck has seats for a driver, fire officer and up to four additional firefighters.

The truck is so new it's doesn't even have "Radnor Fire Company" and related logos on it yet. The chief says the truck will get its "lettering" next week. Maguire says firefighters will be trained on the best ways to operate the vehicle safely and efficiently before it makes its official debut at a fire expo in Harrisburg in May.

"She's like a new big toy" He says the new truck doesn't have a nickname, but firefighters refer to it as a "she". "Fire trucks are always a girl." One of the firefighters who will drive it added, that's "because they should be pampered and treated with respect.