Engine 332 Now In Hawleyville Fire Service
Engine 332 Now In Hawleyville Fire Service
By Andrew Gorosko
Hawleyville volunteer firefighters this week displayed the latest addition to their fleet, a Class-A large 1979 Pierce pumper truck, which replaces a small 1976 Ford mini-pumper truck that the fire company formerly had used when a compact fire vehicle was required.
The fire company displayed the large pumper truck, which is known as Engine 332, in front of its firehouse at 34 Hawleyville Road (Route 25) before the monthly meeting of the Board of Fire Commissioners.
Engine 332 formerly served as the townâs spare fire truck. The Hawleyville volunteers bought the fire truck from the town for $1. The volunteers then had the vehicle refitted and repainted with Hawleyvilleâs distinctive red-black-gold color scheme, said Hawleyville Fire Chief Joe Farrell.
The fire company spent about $40,000 to modify and refurbish the truck for its use, he said.
The vehicle carries 1,000 gallons of water in its storage tank. It can carry five firefighters on calls.
Engine 332 provides the volunteer fire company with the ability to transport more firefighters and more equipment to fires than was possible in the past with the Ford truck, said Chief Farrell.
Besides Engine 332, the fire companyâs fleet includes Engine 331, Rescue 334, and Tanker 339.
Like the four other local volunteer fire companies, Hawleyville firefighters use a combination of company-owned and town-owned vehicles in their fleets. The other fire companies are Newtown Hook & Ladder, Dodgingtown, Sandy Hook, and Botsford.
Many of Hawleyvilleâs fire calls involve responding to incidents that occur on Interstate 84, a heavily traveled limited-access highway that cuts through the center of the Hawleyville fire district.
 In early 2011, Hawleyville firefighters had been considering buying a used fire truck from outside the area, possibly a full-size pumper truck, an aerial truck, or a quint-style multipurpose fire truck.
The firefighters later came to an agreement with the town to buy the townâs spare fire truck for $1.