Firetruck gets a new home; fire district in Louisiana in need of fire equipment

By: Megan DeMarco
   The Cranbury Volunteer Fire Company has found a home for its old firetruck.
   The township will be selling the 1976 pumper truck to the St. Tammany Fire District 9 of Bush, La., which has been in need of new equipment since Hurricane Katrina.
   "It will help us tremendously," said District 9 Fire Chief Carroll Poche. "We’ve been short a fire truck for some time."
   The Township Committee introduced an ordinance Monday that would permit it to sell the truck for $1. The ordinance will be voted on Aug. 6.
   Both the township and the Cranbury Volunteer Fire Company have indicated that say they no longer have a need for the truck, and the St. Tammany Fire District 9 has expressed an interest in acquiring the truck to replace fire equipment destroyed in Katrina.
   Chief Poche said his fire district needs a new pumper badly and is grateful to be getting one from Cranbury.
   "Thank you very much to the community there for doing it for us," he said. "We’re very appreciative of this donation."
   The fire truck is no longer needed because the township and Fire Company purchased a 2007 Pierce combination pumper and rescue truck.
   Members of the volunteer fire company flew out to Appleton, Wis., in January to help design the $650,000 truck and then again in May to inspect its progress. The new combination vehicle, which will replace a 1976 pumper truck and a 1985 ambulance, 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.
   Fire Chief Sam DiStasio said he has been in contact with the Tammany Fire District and that if the ordinance passes on Aug. 6, someone will be able to come pick up the truck at any time.
   Mr. DiStasio said this will be beneficial for both parties.
   "They’re looking for apparatus down there and we have something that they can use," he said.
Staff Writer Michelle McGuinness contributed to this report.