A new fire truck, dedicated Aug. 17 at the Orange Volunteer Fire Department’s Boston Post Road station, will help firefighters protect their neighbors for years to come, according to Orange First Selectman James M. Zeoli.
The truck, designated Quint-32, went into service earlier this month. Equipped with a 75-foot aerial ladder, 1,500-gallon-per-minute pump and a variety of other tools, the Spartan/Smeal truck is designed to perform a variety of tasks at emergencies.
In addition to showing off the new truck in a dedication ceremony called a wetdown, the party included speeches and a cornhole tournament.
The truck replaces a 1978 Mack CK that had a 50-foot ladder and a 1,000-gallon-per-minute pump. The new truck carries a price tag of more than $850,000, paid for through the Orange Volunteer Fireman’s Carnival and other fundraising activities. Such equipment, noted Zeoli, helps firefighters respond to the town’s emergencies.
“We have 14,000 people in this town,” Zeoli said. “We have probably 100,000 cars passing through this town every day. That’s all on this group. When there’s an emergency, you’re there and we’re all really, really grateful.”
Fire Chief Vaughan Dumas thanked his firefighters but offered special thanks to firefighters’ families and the community. Without their support, he said, the department wouldn’t have the new truck.
“We work hard,” he said. “This is reward for that hard work.”
After additional comments and a prayer over the truck, Zeoli, himself a former Orange firefighter, sprayed the new truck with champagne. A crew led by former Chief John Knight used a hose line from the truck being replaced to wash the champagne off the new truck. Knight was chief when the truck was designed and the purchase process began.
After the ceremony, firefighters from Orange and surrounding towns competed in a cornhole tournament. Bean bags flew through the air inside the Boston Post Road station as 10 teams worked their way through the tournament brackets. Paul DeGeorge and Kyle Brennan, both with Beacon Hose Company #1 of Beacon Falls, won the contest.
The new truck already is in service, responding to some alarms in town. Firefighters will spend the next few months continuing to learn to use the new truck effectively.