SOUTH DEERFIELD — The fire district’s new Steward Stevenson fire truck was acquired from the military a few years ago and refurbished recently by Rose Ledge Co. in Erving.
“It was custom fabrication. There’s not another one like it out there,” said Fire Chief William J. Swasey on Tuesday, standing outside the Greenfield Road station next to the truck, which was originally built in 1996.
Before refabrication — completed late last year — the truck was painted in camouflage style and used as a transportation vehicle. After, its red paint sparkles and a 325-gallons-per-minute pump discharges water and foam from a 500-gallon tank.
“It’s really remarkable what happened to this truck. We cut the body right here,” said Deputy Chief Dennis Patterson, pointing to a part of the truck’s bed that steps down to facilitate the water tank.
Patterson said the truck’s primary purpose is to extinguish wild fires, but is also used during inclement weather because of its exceptional off-road capabilities and maneuverability.
The fire district was given the truck free of charge in 2015 through the Department of Defense’s Firefighter Property Program, a “special programs where firefighters can get excess property to be used for firefighting and emergency services,” fire officials noted.
Total cost for refabrication, which included extensive modifications and parts replacement, was $50,000, which Patterson said is a great deal for the truck’s capabilities.
“We do things the right way. It’s all the way or we don’t do it,” he said. Other trucks in the district’s firefighting fleet include a ladder engine, rescue truck (which will soon be replaced), two pumper trucks, a tanker-pumper hybrid, and an antique engine restored by members of the department.
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