Cranbury Fire Company to buy new truck by end of July
By: Lacey Korevec
The Cranbury Fire Company will soon have a big, new addition to its firefighting team.
The volunteer company expects to welcome its brand new 2007 Pierce combination pumper and rescue truck to the station by the end of July. Construction of the $650,000 truck has been completed and a group of Fire Company members are planning a trip out to Appleton, Wis., in early June to inspect the vehicle before it’s sent to Cranbury, Fire Chief Sam DiStasio said Tuesday.
"We’ll look at it and make sure it was built the way we want it," he said. "We’ll make sure the pump works and everything. Just kind of go over everything with a fine-tooth comb and make sure everything is the way we wanted it."
The new truck will be equipped with 830 gallons of water, 70 gallons of foam, a rear-mounted pump, a compressed air foam system, and ladders, as well as rescue equipment, airbags and backboards. The combination vehicle will replace a 1976 pumper truck, which will be donated to a fire company in New Orleans, and a 1985 ambulance.
Chief DiStasio said the Fire Company is in great need of the new truck because the 1976 vehicle is outdated and lacks modern equipment.
"We need something with more compartment space," he said. "We’re also putting our rescue tools from the rescue truck into this one, so it will serve as a duel purpose."
The Fire Company and the township will pay for the new truck over the next 10 years through a Middlesex County Improvement Authority capital equipment lease program.
Member of the Fire Company flew to Appleton, Wis., in January to help design the new truck to meet the company’s needs, Chief DiStasio said.
"I feel it’s really good that we had a say in designing it because we’re the ones who are using it and, after years of doing extrications and stuff, we know what tools we need to have handy and what equipment we need to get first," he said. "So, it’s great that we had a say in how it was built and where the equipment was placed and all that stuff. I think it’s very helpful to the company."
The new truck’s compressed air foam system will help the company fight fires more efficiently, Chief DiStasio said.
"It gives us a foam, which covers the fire a little more quickly and helps extinguish the fire using less water.
Chief DiStasio said the company is looking forward to donating the old truck to an area of New Orleans that is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Details of the donation still have to be finalized.
"I’ve been in touch with the New Orleans State Fire Chiefs Association and I’m kind of working with them on what company basically needs the engine that we’re going to be giving them the most. So, we’re still working on that at this time."
The 1976 truck is still in good working condition, Chief DiStasio said.
"It’s not up to today’s standards," he said. "But when you’re looking at a fire company that doesn’t have anything, I’m sure they can use it for at least a few years."