Newtown Hook & Ladder

Deploys Two Modernized Fire Trucks

By Andrew Gorosko

The Newtown Hook & Ladder Volunteer Fire Company has put into service two recently refurbished fire vehicles, which have been renovated to provide the organization with updated equipment for rescue work and fire pumper operations.

The fire company displayed the two pieces of apparatus on the evening of August 11 at the company firehouse at 45 Main Street. Several dozen people attended the equipment display, which included a picnic.

Newtown Hook & Ladder is one of the town’s five volunteer fire companies. The others are the Dodgingtown Volunteer Fire Company at 55 Dodgingtown Road, the Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Company at 34 Hawleyville Road, the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company at 18-20 Riverside Road and 249 Berkshire Road, and the United Fire Company of Botsford at 315 South Main Street.

Hook & Ladder Fire Chief Ray Corbo displayed the two refurbished fire vehicles in front of the company’s firehouse on the seasonable summer day, with the brilliant sun creating sharp highlights on the bright red and chrome surfaces of the heavy-duty trucks.

Hook & Ladder Fire Commissioner Bill McCarthy headed the two committees that oversaw refurbishment of the two vehicles.

About two years ago, the fire company purchased a used fire rescue truck, from which the body was later removed. That body was then refurbished, after which it was mated with a new cab/chassis.

The truck, known as Rescue 113, has a gross vehicle weight of 45,000 pounds. It is 32 feet long, 10 feet tall, and eight feet wide.

The 400-horsepower diesel Spartan/Pierce vehicle’s dimensions allow it to pass under all existing local low-clearance underpasses, Mr McCarthy said. It carries a six-person crew.

The rescue truck carries a 35,000-watt generator, a full set of hydraulic tools, plus an assortment of rescue tools.

The net cost of the rescue truck, which is owned by Hook & Ladder, was approximately $225,000, Mr McCarthy said. Had a completely new truck been purchased, it would have cost approximately $500,000, he said.

The Gowans-Knight Company, Inc, of Watertown did the refurbishment work for Hook & Ladder, he said.

The Spartan/Pierce rescue truck replaces another rescue truck that was formerly used by Hook & Ladder.

The town-owned Engine 111 is the first Hook & Ladder pumper truck that is dispatched to fire calls and thus is known as an “attack pumper.”

The Pierce vehicle has been in town service since 1985. The truck was determined to be in good enough condition for refurbishment and continued use, Mr McCarthy said. The modernized vehicle is expected to provide another decade of service.

Improvements included new electrical wiring, water pump enhancements, the installation of a new plastic 1,000-gallon water tank, and a thorough repainting. The pumper pushes 1,000 gallons of water per minute.

The refurbishment cost $176,000, Mr McCarthy said. A new truck would have cost between $475,000 and $500,000, he said. The improvements took about six months to accomplish.

The diesel-powered vehicle has a gross vehicle weight of 36,000 pounds. The truck is 27 feet long, nine and one-half feet tall, and eight feet wide. It carries a crew of four. The 350-horsepower truck carriers 2,750 feet of hose of various diameters, plus short ladders.