Warren unveils new multiuse firetruck

The truck will be paid for with tipping fees, not general fund money.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A new, multipurpose firetruck will replace two older trucks used at the Parkman Road fire station.
The $528,000 firetruck, called a quint because of its five features, was unveiled Thursday. Fire Chief Ken Nussle said it will take a couple of weeks before the apparatus is ready for service.
Each shift of firefighters must undergo eight hours of training provided by the company that sold the truck. Fire department officials also must determine the best way to mount equipment onto the vehicle. Radios and the device that enables a driver to switch a traffic light from red to green in an emergency also must be installed, Nussle said.
Mayor Michael J. O'Brien pointed out that no general fund money was used to buy the truck. It's being paid for with tipping fees for infectious waste paid to the city from Stericycle Inc. The commercial facility, on Pine Avenue Southeast, treats infectious waste through an autoclave, an instrument that uses steam and pressure.
Money
The city gets about $6,000 per month in those fees and loan payments on the truck will be about $60,000 annually for 10 years.
The truck features a pumper, water tank, full complement of ground ladders, a 75-foot aerial device and a hose bed, hence the quint.
Once in service, it will replace a 1973 truck and a 1984 pumper used at the Parkman station.
The truck complements two pumpers, a rescue truck and a 95-foot aerial platform already used by the department. The aerial device on the new apparatus can accommodate up to 1,000 feet of hose compared with 400 feet that may be used by the 95-foot platform.
denise_dick@vindy.com