Two County towns get federal funds for firetrucks

FORT KENT – Two St. John Valley towns are among four in Maine receiving Fire Act Grants from the Department of Homeland Security to purchase firefighting vehicles.

Fort Kent has been approved for $173,700 and St. Francis is getting $165,600.

The grants were announced in a joint statement Wednesday by Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

“The funding will allow fire departments to update their equipment and training to keep up with the continuing demands of their communities and homeland security,” they said in the statement. “These grants are vital to fire departments in Maine, allowing them to preserve the safety of their firefighters and the public they serve.”

Peru and Westbrook also received grants of more than $124,000 each.

Fort Kent Town Manager Donald Guimond said the new truck will take the place of a 1953 firetruck. The old truck will be kept and used by the department for parades and other ceremonies.

The new truck will also replace the functions of two other vehicles. Along with replacing the 1953 firetruck, the new vehicle will house equipment like pumps and nozzles, now stored in an old van. The new truck will also carry the department’s hydraulic extrication equipment, now stored in a revamped ambulance.

“It’s a good deal for the town,” Guimond said. “Our newest truck is a 1999 and the town usually gets a new truck every 15 years.

“With all the equipment that can be stored in the new vehicle, it will make operations of the department more efficient,” he said. “We knew we needed to replace some of the old equipment, and we did not have money to do it on our own.”

The town is putting $19,300 into the new vehicle, which has a price tag of $193,000.

The Fort Kent Volunteer Fire Department has three other fire trucks, a 1974 Mack, a 1987 International and a 1999 Western Star.

The grant will advance the town’s rotation of firetruck replacement by about 10 years.

The 16-volunteer department at St. Francis will be replacing a 1966 firetruck with its grant, according to Fire Chief Fernando Harvey.

The Fire Department will keep two trucks, with the oldest one being 7 years old.

“We are really happy to get this,” Charles Ouellette, first selectman at St. Francis, said Thursday. “For a small town like us it’s like winning the lottery.

“We have a small community, with an aging population,” he said. “It’s hard for a town like ours to buy our own. It just would not have happened.

St. Francis will pay roughly 10 percent of the $184,000 truck.

Three weeks ago the old truck had a carburetor malfunction and caught on fire. It has been repaired, but it is not very dependable, Ouellette said.

“It gives firefighters better equipment to work with,” he said.

The truck will help other towns as well. St. Francis has mutual aid agreements with Allagash and Fort Kent.