All Newtown electors and qualified taxpayers are invited to participate in a Special Town Meeting next Wednesday, August 16, at 7:15 pm, to consider and act upon a $460,000 bond authorization to purchase a new fire truck. The triple combination pumper is a standard supply vehicle that will replace Hook & Ladder’s Engine 1, which has served the town since 1979.

Like Engine 1, the new apparatus will be a first responder, serving all fire districts in Newtown, according to Fire Commissioner William McCarthy. Mr McCarthy, a Hook & Ladder member, also served as head of the design committee that submitted all specifications for the truck.

Provided the town meeting endorses the bonding, the new pumper truck is expected to be delivered and put into service in mid-2007, Mr McCarthy said. The vehicle is scheduled to be built by the Pierce Manufacturing Company in Appleton, Wis., and will be delivered through Firematic Supply, Co. in Rocky Hill.