When he opened the cargo bay doors on the 2004 Pierce
Contender fire truck Advance Fire Department had been awarded by the federal
government, AFD Chief Jim Caldwell expected to see nothing more than sheet
metal.
He did not expect $30,000 to $40,000 worth of firefighting
equipment.
“I was stunned,” Caldwell said Tuesday as he and assistant
chief Tony Petro inspected the largesse. “All we need to add are radios, water
and air packs,” Caldwell said.
The truck alone was a phenomenal bargain, he said. A similar
unit would cost between $350,000 and $400,000, unequipped, said Pat McGinley,
of Lebanon-based McGinley Fire Apparatus.
The 2004 Pierce, which will go into service in about four
weeks as a dedicated rescue engine, cost $45,000 — to cover shipping from the
U.S. Air Force base in Afghanistan where it had been declared surplus.
