Firefighters get ‘new’ vehicle
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
WASHBURN — A ‘new’ vehicle recently acquired by the Washburn Fire Department will make responding to emergencies easier, following The Aroostook Medical Center and Crown Ambulance’s generous donation of an out-of-service ambulance that will be used by the department as a first responder vehicle.
During a Town Council meeting in September, councilors voted to accept the 2005 Ford ambulance.
“It will replace a 1999 Ford we’ve been using,” said Fire Chief Troy Heald.
Heald said the ambulance will be converted to a rescue vehicle with only minimal effort required.
“The one previously donated has served its purpose. The body on it is old and showing its age,” Heald told the town officials.
Heald said when he started to look into replacing the department’s aging unit, he discovered Crown had two available that were “much newer, with much newer bodies.”
“The current unit has served its purpose and would need significant body work if we were going to continue to use it. This will allow us to replace a vehicle that is used heavily in our community,” he said.
Heald said little will be required to transition the vehicle from an ambulance to a first responder unit.
“We don’t have to change hardly anything on the inside. We can reutilize the cabinetry to store our stuff in it,” said Heald, noting one minor thing that will be addressed. “One thing we’re working on is putting together a package for a tray to better store things like our hydraulic extrication gear, rather than the way it’s stored now.”
First responder vehicles are typically used to store/transport equipment including hydraulic extrication gear, camera equipment, first responder gear, extra hoses and air packs.
“It serves as a cargo unit for us,” Heald said.
Council unanimously approved accepting the ambulance from TAMC for use by the WFD.
