CAMDEN — Camden's newest edition to its fleet of fire apparatus arrived in town with little fanfare Jan. 7, traveling the last distance of a 1,360-mile Wisconsin-to-Maine treck, and no doubting turning heads all the way. Engine 4 is a significant investment for Camden, representing more than $542,000 of taxpayer dollars at work, and several years of financial deliberations and engineering design. Its construction also contributed to the employment of Midwest manufacturers, who spent more than seven weeks building it.

The truck, a Dash-CF multi-purpose vehicle with pumper capabilities, was designed and constructed by Pierce Manufacturing, in Appleton, Wisc., beginning with the engineering last summer, and the framing of its steel chassis in September. It is replacing, over the span of several years, Engines 1 and 6, a decision reached by a municipal committee in 2010. Camden has already divested Engine 1, which was sold last fall, subsequently opening a bay inside the fire station for Engine 4.

The Dash-CF provides firefighters an array of new features, including more functional space and maintenance ease. It has many storage options for equipment — turn out gear, cold water rescue gear, brooms and shovels and chain saws — lower step heights (four inches lower), a shorter wheelbase and independent suspension that is designed to allow the truck to travel with a minimum of road shock at highway speed over improved roads and moderate speed over rough terrain.

It has two tanks, one that holds 40 gallons of foam, and other 750-gallon booster water tank.

The engine is moved further back from the front cab, creating more room for up to six firefighters to shift around as they get gear on. The batteries, alternator and air cleaners have been relocated for easier access for maintenance and mechanics can lift the entire cab up off the engine compartment, which sits beneath where firefighters ride. The cab tilts forward on an hydraulic pump, part of its "ease of service" that Pierce advertises.

Camden's new 58,000-pound Dash CF represents design upgrades that Pierce characterizes as its "next generation of fire apparatus." The company built a series of prototypes in its design and research department and some of them were subsequently destroyed in crash tests.

Its six-cylinder, 450-horsepower Cummins-built engine is "green," according to Pierce, and after a major reconfiguration, it now meets Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy guidelines. The truck carries a 65-gallon diesel fuel tank. The EPA standards added cost to the vehicle, but the engine and exhaust system meets 2010 emission levels, reducing nitrogen oxide emissions and diesel particles, according to Pierce personnel.

The windshield, which drops another 10-inches in depth for better visibility, curves around the front of the engine. Teardrop front door windows and larger side windows provide more window space to see what's ahead on the road, and provide firefighters increased visibility to assess a scene as they pull up to it. There is enhanced safety with side roll and frontal airbag protection systems.

Read about the manufacturing process, and the business of fire trucks in "The Maine-Wisconsin connection: Who builds these fire trucks taxpayers buy"

Lincolnville also recently welcomed its own new Pierce-built tanker in November. "Lincolnville's new fire truck rolls in town"

The truck's electrical system incorporates lighting from the deck, rear work lights, and scene lighting that includes four 900-watt flood lights that sit atop a six-foot tower. It is also equipped with a trailer hitch that will be used as an anchor point for ropes and winches.

A committee consisting of seven firefighters, a Budget Committee member and two Select Board members convened in January 2010 to begin planning for this new truck. After a year of design research, discussions about the role of a new truck in the broader mutual aid pact with area towns, as well as Camden's own public safety needs, the decision was made to go with Pierce.

Camden got acquainted with the Dash design in 2011, when Camden Fire Chief Chris Farley attended a New England Fire Chiefs Association tradeshow in Springfield, Massachusetts. Following that show, a salesman with Minuteman Fire & Rescue Apparatus, the Walpole-Mass.,-based Pierce dealer for Maine, as well as New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, drove the Dash to Camden, where firefighters got the chance to review its features.

Farley expects the truck to be in service in February. The department will receive training from Minuteman representatives Jan. 26 and 27.

Editorial Director Lynda Clancy can be reached by email at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com or by calling 207-706-6657.