ROCKPORT and SOUTH THOMASTON —Rockport firefighters didn’t waste any time inspecting the town’s newest Engine 23 as it pulled into the Public Safety Building just after 9 p.m., June 22. They had been waiting for Fire Chief Jason Peasley to arrive, who had picked up the new truck in Brunswick. In South Thomaston, a similar scene was unfolding, where firefighters there were waiting for Chief Bryan Calderwood to pull into the station with that town’s newest firetruck.

Earlier in the evening, Calderwood had ridden down to Brunswick with Peasley, surprising his town’s firefighters with the announcement that he would be bringing South Thomaston’s new Engine 53 back later that night. 

At 8 p.m., both Calderwood and Peasley claimed their town’s new engines in a Brunswick parking lot where they sat with several other new firetrucks, all destined for various Maine communities. They had been driven east from Hamburg, New York to Brunswick. E-One was the manufacturer for the new trucks, and their chassis construction actually began more than a year ago in a Florida manufacturing facility, before moving to the New York plant and outfitted with stainless steel cabs and tanks.

The construction of fire engines is a methodical, meticulous process, and because Rockport and South Thomaston had submitted custom requests, their ultimate arrival at their respective fire stations is a big deal. 

New firetrucks are also major investments for small towns like South Thomaston and Rockport. Rockport spent $400,000 on the Engine 23, and has been saving up money every year, as do most Maine towns, which regularly replace their fire apparatus. South Thomaston paid $350,000 for its Engine 53. Both are 2015 Class A pumpers.

The average tenure of a firetruck in a municipality is 28 to 30 years, and fire departments keep regular schedules for updating and upgrading their equipment. 

“It was powerful, smooth ride,” said Peasley, who rode up Route 1 just as dusk settled. Behind him was Calderwood, until the highway split, with Peasley braking left onto Route 90 and Calderwood staying on Route 1. 

“It's different than what the town has had in the past,” said Calderwood, who also works as a dispatcher at Knox County Regional Communications Center. “It is going to fit what we need to do to protect the citizens of South Thomaston and any mutual aid town we respond to. It has been a long process of planning by the Truck Committee, Deputy Chief David Elwell, Assistant Chief Gerald Harjula, Captain Todd Butler, Captain Jeff Harjula, and myself.”

Both of the new trucks for Rockport and South Thomaston are E-One’s classic Typhoon pumpers, though custom-built to each town’s specifications. 

South Thomaston’s cab is 12 inches higher than Rockport, for the sake of visibility. It is also able to sit six firefighters.

Rockport’s is a four-man cab, but its engine is a Cummins diesel with 400 horsepower, as opposed to South Thomaston’s 380-horsepower (also a Cummins), because West Rockport has steep hills to climb — Mill Street, White Tail Drive, Mt. Pleasant. When the pumper is loaded with 1,000 gallons of water, it needs that extra power to get up the inclines swiftly to a fire, said Peasley.

The fire departments had put out bids almost two years ago for the new trucks. Both decided that E-One’s price and product offered the best fit.

“E-One built the truck to our needs and budget,” said Calderwood. “It was time for the department to purchase new multifunctional apparatus for all types of incidents we respond to. This truck was purchased four years early to avoid purchasing two trucks within three years of each other. The second truck will be replaced in 2024.”

Rockport is in the process of expanding its West Rockport station, where Engine 23 will reside. The town has set aside $85,000 to enlarge the facility, which is at the corner of routes 17 and 90, by pushing the back wall out by 10 feet. This involves possibly acquiring a 20-foot by 40-foot strip of abutting land in order to maintain a 15-foot setback.

West Rockport’s older Engine 23 is to be renamed Engine 24 and parked next to the new Engine 23 at West Rockport. Then, Engine 24, which is a 1983 200-horsepower truck, is to be sold for $3,001 to a private individual, said Peasley. That deal will take place once the new Engine 23 is in service, in a month or so.

South Thomaston’s 1989 International is now out to bid, with the deadline of 2 p.m., July 2, for interested buyers.

Both Calderwood and Peasley anticipate 30 days of firefighter training on the new trucks before they are put to use. This will also allow time to install brackets, tools and equipment, and test the pumps. 

“It takes a team to do it and get it where it needs to be,” said Peasley.

In South Thomaston, firefighters will undergo safety training conducted by E-One.

“The truck will cover all of South Thomaston and will respond mutual aid to other towns,” said Calderwood.

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657.