East Millinocket readies new firetruck

EAST MILLINOCKET – When the town’s primary firetruck went into service, Gerald Ford was ending his presidency, and bell bottoms, disco and Chevy Chase were big stuff.

The 1976 Maxim pumper has way more than 100,000 miles on it and a rickety front end, but it still has value: The town is selling it to the Kingman Volunteer Fire Department for $2,502 and replacing it with a new engine, Fire Chief Les Brown said Tuesday.

Firefighters were transferring gear from the old truck to a new Ferrara Intruder, costing $161,000, that they hope to have ready for its first call by the weekend, Brown said.

“It feels very good to have the new pumper in,” Brown said Tuesday. “We are going to use it as first response to any structure fire, car accident or rescue.”

Town residents voted to buy the new truck during the town meeting in May. The order was placed at the Ferrara factory in Holden, La., three months ago, Brown said.

The new truck will help lower the town’s insurance rating and has several features that the old truck lacked that will help town firefighters, Brown said.

The most important feature might be the truck’s enclosed, climate-controlled cab.

“We can have people jump in the cab and put on their turnout gear as they respond,” Brown said.

The climate control will help firefighters fight frostbite and heat exhaustion in inclement weather, important features considering that most town firefighters are older, Brown said.

Kingman outbid the Passadumkeag Volunteer Fire Department by $2 during a Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Monday night to buy the old truck.

Kingman can use the truck as a first-response vehicle without repairing its front end so long as it stays on rural roads, Brown said.

“We had to take it on the interstate to handle mutual aid calls and it wasn’t good for us there,” Brown said.

Kingman Fire Chief John Moody did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment Tuesday.