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NEWTON
VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT., INC.
*** RETIRED FIRE TRUCKS
:-(
This is a picture of the old 571 truck taken during a parade in
Newton. The actual date is unknown but it could have been in the mid 80's.
This was a Chevrolet and the earliest truck that I personally know about. I
do know that there was one Chevrolet before this one but I have no history
on it as of this date. This truck was sold to another town. When I get more
history on it I will put in on this page.
UPDATE: This engine was sold to the Echo VFD. I recently saw the truck and
it is housed under a shelter at Echo, AL and appears to be in the process of
being refurbished.
This 1978 Dodge brush truck was loaned to us by the Forestry
Commission. It was put in service about 1991. When in service it carried 100
gallons of water pumped by a 150 gpm pump. The reel housed 150 feet of 1"
line. All of this allowed a pump and roll vehicle with which to fight brush
fires in an effective manner. It was taken out of service in 2001 due to
transmission failure. This truck did a lot of work for us. It would go into
areas where we could not get a full size pumper. We could even draft from a
stream back out in the woods if need be. There are a lot of memories in this
vehicle.
The 1968 model Mack truck was purchased at the same time the
building was contracted, in 1988. A loan was made at the bank to be repaid
at $190 per month for a period of 36 months. The truck was paid off in 1991
and at that time the bill of sale to the truck was transferred over to the
Fire Department.
This engine was a gas burner with a 5-speed transmission. It had the feel of
a big rig. I personally enjoyed driving it. It was a real hog. It had a 1000
gpm pump and carried 500 gallons of water. We had to be real careful at a
fire or we would run out of water quick. Once hooked to a hydrant it would
move some water.
In the winter of 1994/95, while enroute to a barn fire, the truck engine
started knocking. It was evident that the time was upon us to begin our
search for another pumper. About a year later we sold the truck to a local
resident.
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The Waukesha was built about 1965. I don't know of any records that
exist with the specifications of the truck. I know it had a high
pressure/low volume pump. It held more water than the Mack truck did but for
fires that were well involved it was not quite as efficient as the Mack
truck was. The Waukesha did not carry large hoses, it only carried booster
lines. I don't remember how long the hoses were but they must have been 200'
long. I remember once going a long way in the woods fighting a brush fire. I
had to lug all that hose back out. Today this engine sits below Ashford, AL
under a shelter being restored.
THE FOLLOWING IS ENTERED WORD FOR WORD AS IT ONCE APPEARED ON THE CURRENT FIRE TRUCK PAGE:
 When the Mack truck went out on us we called a special meeting to write up some specifications that we wanted in a replacement engine so we would have some guidelines as we started our search. We made several phone calls and visited a few dealers but none of them had what we were looking for. Our visit to Panama City Fire Apparatus revealed a 1972 Pirsch unit on the refurb line that met every specification that we had listed, and more. We made the proper arrangements to purchase this truck and as soon as the refurb process was completed we took delivery. This was in 1995.
The papers that came with the truck listed the Maynard, MA Fire Department as the original owners of this engine. For earlier history on the Pirsch truck click on the link below to go to their website.
On another page you will see some pictures of this truck while we were doing the annual hose tests. This truck will produce 12 output lines if hooked to a proper water source. We can pressure test about that many lines at one time. She sports a 8V71 Detroit diesel engine along with an automatic transmission which was placed in the truck new in 1980. The Town of Maynard had upgraded it from a gas burner and manual transmission.
She carries a load of 1000 gallons of water and is rated at 1250 gpm. It has two 1 3/4" crosslay handlines, two 1 3/4" rear pre-connects, one rear 2 1/2" pre-connect along with 2 hose reels. It is capable of connecting 5 hand lines on the sides of the truck. We carry the ISO recommended load of 1200' of 2 1/2" supply line.
Again, preventative maintenance is the key to success. Our trucks are properly maintained and looked after. We have very concientious maintenance minded members who do a remarkable job with the equipment. Maynard, Massachusetts Fire Department This is a view of the Pirsch truck when we draped her for a funeral. This particular shot was taken at the funeral of Ronald Carlen. The truck was also draped and positioned along the funeral route for Virgil Dobbs. See the memorial page for more information on them. Notice the light bar and the front and side panels are blacked out.
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