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Fire Department Service

I was a charter member of the East Middlebury (VT) Fire Department. The only firefighting equipment we had was a trailer with a few hundred feet of 2 1/2" hose We did have hydrants, however, because during the late 'thirties, a water system had been installed by the government program, the Works Progress Administration (WPA). A large reservoir was built up on a mountain above the town, and while the water system was being installed, it was decided by someone with a lot of foresight, to install fire hydrants even though their use would probably lie in the far distant future. It wasn't to take us very long, through "begging" for donations and holding some community activities, to acquire an old used fire truck. We practiced and practiced until we could go to the scene of a fire and very efficiently "save the cellar hole!" I left East Middlebury after about three years, to move south to Brattleboro and start working in the book printing business.

From Brattleboro, we moved to Newfane, about 12 miles up Route 30. And in 1957 I was invited to join the Volunteer Fire Department. That was 40 years ago, and now, in 1997 I have just retired from the Department. For a total of fifteen of those 40 years I was the President of the NewBrook Volunteer Fire Association besides being a full-time volunteer firefighter.

And now, some facts about NewBrook Fire Department (so named because we cover and have members from, Newfane and Brookline): We have 5 "front line" trucks:

Engine 1 -- 1985 Ford L9000 Pierce pumper with a 1000-gal. Waterous two stage pump. A 1000 gal. steel tank. Engine 1 is used as a combination pumper/tanker and carries 2200 ft. of 4-inch hose along with two mattydale cross lays, 20 ft. of 1 1/2" hose on each and carries AFFF foam.
Engine 2 -- 1942 (yes, I said 1942!) Chevy 4 x 4 surplus troop carrier retrofitted to a 500-gal tanker used as a brush truck. It has a 300 gpm Darley high-pressure portable pump and is used as a forestry truck. It also carries 15 Indian tanks and rakes and shovels.
Engine 3 -- 1996 Pierce Saber Pumper w/custom six-man cab. It has a 1,000 gpm two-stage Waterous pump with a 1,000 gallon polyurethane tank. High side compartments on driver's side with regular compartments on passenger side. It carries 1100 ft. of 4-inch hose. Two front mattydales with 250-ft. of
1 1/2-inch hose on each crosslay. Also carries foam. It has a Honda 4500-watt on-board generator which can be started from the cab. It powers two 1500-watt quartz lights and also has two 110-120 watt outlets on rear. Along with turnout gear, it carries breathing apparatus, a 35-ft extension ladder and an attic ladder.
Rescue Truck -- 1988 Ford 4 x 4 Diesel. All kinds of rescue equipment and Advanced Life Support Equipment. We do not transport patients. Truck is used as First Response vehicle.
Squad One is a retrofitted Surplus Air Force ammunition carrier. It is a utility truck which carries a wide range of equipment. Two of the most important items are (1) a 3-bottle Cascade system used to fill air bottles in the Scott Air Packs; (2) an infrared heat-imaging camera called the Argus which can "see" through smoke and darkness to find people or "hot spots" at a fire scene. (We believe this is the first one of its kind in Vermont at this time.) This truck also carries much more equipment, too much to list.
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