| TOP STORIES AROUND THE COUNTY |
New Tower Truck Added to Pittsfield Fire Department02:35PM / Wednesday, February 25, 2009
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Mayor James M. Ruberto announced today that the newest piece of fire fighting equipment has gone into service in the Pittsfield Fire Department, a Pierce 100 foot aerial ladder platform truck.
The Fire Department was awarded a $675,000 Department of Homeland Security Assistance to Firefighters Grant in early 2008, which was written by Deputy Chief Mark Cancilla. The City of Pittsfield was required by the grant to supply the remaining funds to reach the total purchase price of $769,000.
“Senators Kennedy, Kerry, and Representative Olver were instrumental in the process for the City of Pittsfield to obtain this grant,” said Mayor Ruberto. “With this purchase we are able to take the 1974 100 foot aerial ladder out of service and donate to the town of Dalton who currently does not have a ladder truck.”
Pittsfield Firefighters have been receiving classroom driver training and are beginning the hands-on training on this new piece of apparatus. The new tower is expected to be placed into service after all driver/operators are certified by the drillmaster, Captain Michael Polidoro, to operate the new ladder, probably around the middle of March.
“This piece of equipment will greatly enhance the firefighting capabilities of the Pittsfield Fire Department,” said Chief Sullivan. “This new piece of equipment is unlike any we have had before. It is longer, heavier, and taller than our firefighters are accustomed to, so there will be extensive training for the next several weeks.”
The 47 foot long, 12 foot 3 inch high, 80,000 lb tower was supplied by Minuteman Fire & Rescue Apparatus of Walpole, MA, the local dealer for Pierce Manufacturing of Appleton, Wisconsin. |
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary. Comments are closed for this article. If you would like to contribute information on this article, e-mail us at info@iBerkshires.com |
|
Advertise on iBerkshires.com
|
