Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue (SHVFR) Company held a ceremonial “wetdown” celebration July 22 to officially recognize putting Newtown’s most advanced piece of fire apparatus in service. “Quint 440” was purchased through a joint collaboration between the town and the independent nonprofit fire company, with each entity contributing around $500,000 toward the acquisition of the brand new, state of the art firefighting vehicle.

The 2022 quintuple combination pumper, or quint, is described as such because of its five principal functions — providing a 1,500 gallon-per-minute pump, water tank, hoses, a 100’ aerial device, along with ground ladders and gear.

The vehicle was manufactured by E-One of Ocala, Florida, and was customized for SHVFR by Greenwood Emergency Vehicles, North Attleboro, Massachusetts according to truck committee member and company Vice President Matt Dobson. He, along with Second Engineer Bruce Clark, Chief Anthony Capozziello, Deputy Chief Ryan Clark, Lieutenant Stephen Clark, First Engineer Tim Whelan, Firefighter John Jeltema, and the company’s late Chief William Halstead all partnered on the truck committee, which handled every facet of the design and purchase.

Capozziello said he served on the truck committee along with Halstead when SHVFR took ownership of its first pre-owned quint, a 1992 E-One model, and that he learned much from Halstead that helped inform his efforts as he and fellow committee members worked through the process of ordering, designing, and taking delivery of the new Quint 440.

The day of the wetdown offered music, refreshments, and food, but the real draw was the new truck. Parked behind the company's main station and its ladder fully extended high above the gathering, the event drew over 100 visitors throughout the afternoon including many representing other fire departments and emergency response agencies across the state.

The celebration was also attended by members of Newtown’s four other fire companies, as well as members of Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

Dobson said the new rig was similar in physical size and wheelbase to the former quint, which has since been sold to Cuerpos de Bomberos, part of the Fire Department of La Serena located in northern Chile.

During an orientation tour of the vehicle by Second Assistant Chief Rob Sibley during the wetdown, he described the vehicle as highly maneuverable and actually fun to drive. Dobson concurred, touting Quint 440’s tighter steering capacity.

Sibley also talked about the vehicle’s unique stabilizing jack system, which Dobson confirmed also helps the vehicle stage in some of the tight streets and driveways where it might be called into service in Sandy Hook and elsewhere in town.

“Where other [ladder] trucks deploy jacks in a 16-foot area, the quint only needs 11½ feet, so we can get it into even tighter situations,” Dobson said. “And the fact that we have a ladder to handle rescues or roof ventilation, along with a pump and hoses to attack a fire from below means we only need to have one piece of apparatus close to the fire scene instead of two.”

Among the custom features on the vehicle are specific compartment layouts and roll-out shelves, each designed to hold specific pieces of gear or equipment.

“It’s designed for maximum efficiency, and everybody knows where each tool is, and where it goes back once we are done with it,” Dobson explained.

Another unique feature is a Stokes basket — a strong wire mesh stretcher that is mounted right on the aerial ladder instead of being stored inside a compartment. That placement makes it easier for firefighters to conduct rescue and patient transport when needed.

The unit features a five-person closed cab and space for what Dobson said is primarily battery-powered saws, although Quint 440 also carries a fuel-fed K12 rescue saw as well.

Although the wetdown marked an official rite of passage for the apparatus, Dobson said it has been in active service for several months, and has already responded and served the company well on calls including structure fires. The first structure fire for the new apparatus was within Sandy Hook's district, early on the morning of June 29. Capozziello told The Newtown Bee that morning he was "very happy" with the truck, which did "exactly what we needed it to do."

This week, Clark told The Newtown Bee that the quint offers firefighters the “best of both worlds,” with its pumper and ladder functions on board a single platform.

While the million-dollar-plus rig was an expensive investment, Clark said his company was also facing escalating costs between the time the initial order was made and the truck was delivered. Through a series of lucky breaks, however, SHVFR and the town saved what would have been a $400,000 mark-up because Greenwood had previously ordered and was poised to receive a demo quint, which it then offered to the local company for close to the originally quoted price.

The other stroke of luck was that the original quint that was ordered came with a 75’ ladder, similar to its 20-year-old predecessor, but the demo model came with a 100’ ladder.

“So we got the 100-foot ladder for the price of a 75-foot, and didn’t have to come up with the $400,000 upcharge,” Clark said.

He said the company could expect to get at least 20 years of service from the new Quint 440, although with refurbishing, the company could see it in service for as long as 30 years.

“This is a good vehicle that fits well in Sandy Hook and gets the job done in tight areas around fire scenes,” he added.

Editor John Voket can be reached at john@thebee.com.