Oakfield takes delivery of new town firetruck

OAKFIELD – The town’s fire department took delivery of a 2000 Metalfab fire engine over the weekend, its first new firetruck in almost 20 years.

Voters overwhelmingly approved the purchase of the unit from K&T Environmental in Island Falls for $145,000 at a special town meeting on Sept. 27.

The new pumper features a 1,250- gallon-per-minute pump and carries 1,200 gallons of water on a Freightliner FL-80 chassis. It has a four-door cab that allows firefighters to put on self-contained breathing equipment while inside the pumper en route to or at a fire.

The new unit will replace a 1964 American LaFrance engine.

The town also has a 1983 Grumman pumper, a 1972 International and a 1970 Ford.

Town Manager Candy Roy said Tuesday that the town paid off its last firetruck in 1987 and immediately began putting money aside for a replacement. The town had accumulated about $88,000 since then, she said.

The town will finance $50,000 of the purchase price for five years through Machias Savings Bank, she said.

The remainder will be taken from the department’s operating budget.