GILL — As part of an agreement with the Mount Herman School, the Gill Fire Department has replaced a 31-year-old Ford Econoline with a 2011 Ford 550 with about 2,600 miles on it to be used as a rescue vehicle.
The $145,000 truck arrived in Gill just in time for the Franklin County Fair parade this year, and will be well used, according to Gill Town Administrator Ray Purington. He said the town has been working with Mount Hermon for a donation toward replacing fire vehicles — the rescue vehicle is the first purchase.
Looking to the future, Mount Hermon pledged about $300,000 for replacing fire vehicles, and the next vehicle to be replaced will be a 1970 Ford pumper tank, Purington said.
While the older truck did not have a lot of miles on it, Purington said, it was in need of smaller repairs, and its age called for a replacement.
Gill Fire Chief Gene Beaubien said the truck is going to be used to respond to many first responder calls, like auto accidents, medical calls and structure fires.
“There is a set of jaws of life, an onboard generator and we’re in the process of getting a cascade system put in,” Beaubien said. “The cascade system puts air into the SCBA (a self-contained breathing apparatus) packs used by firefighters.”
To move the cascade system, the Gill Selectboard approved an allocation of up to $4,500. The installation of the cascade system is an estimated $3,400, and the extra funds will cover any gauges or fittings that need to be replaced, once the unit has been removed from Engine 3 and inspected, according to Purington.
The installation will be done by Rusty Foote of Montague.
“I’m definitely happy to replace the old one — it was time to replace it,” Beaubien said. “We’ll make use of the new one.”