The selectmen voted unanimously on Monday to authorize the fire chief to buy a new pumper engine. Town Administrator Tim Bragan recommended the purchase, saying, “Everything on that [proposed] truck gives us a better response than the current vehicle.”
The new engine became a necessity when a 40-inch crack was discovered in the previous truck’s frame late last summer. Town Meeting approved the purchase this spring.
According to a memo that Fire Chief Rick Sicard presented to the selectmen at their previous meeting, the new pumper truck, designated Engine 2, will be the Fire Department’s “new front line attack engine,” replacing the current Engine 3 in that role.
The new engine is expected to have more capacity in almost every way than Engine 3 does now. It can carry six firefighters instead of four, 750 gallons of water instead of 500, and five times more 4-inch hose, according to Sicard’s memo. It will also have a more powerful pump and will carry a full range of rescue equipment, including the Jaws of Life extrication tool. The new engine will be equipped with a 24-foot ladder, the same as the current Engine 3. A longer ladder—35 feet—will be available on another engine.
