HOULTON, Maine — Houlton’s Fire Department will soon have a new addition to its fleet, acquired from a local dealer, thanks to a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant.
On Monday, Oct. 23, Houlton town councilors approved purchasing the new pumper tanker from K and T Fire Equipment Sales and Service of Island Falls in the amount of $396,052. The FEMA grant covered $374,159 of the purchase, with a required local match of $18,708.
The town will pay an additional $3,185 to cover the total expense of the purchase.
Town officials first learned they had been selected for the grant in July. Initially, the town sought $376,000 from FEMA. The town expected to contribute 5 percent in matching funds to buy a new pumper truck for $395,000 to replace a 36-year-old rig that the fire department scrapped and sold for parts.
“I am very happy to bring this bid forward,” Houlton Fire Chief Milton Cone said Monday evening. “K and T is a local business in Island Falls since 1991 and the truck will actually be manufactured in Centreville, New Brunswick, with the chassis coming from Freightliner, which is another local business. It is probably as local as you can get.”
The 3,000-gallon pumper tanker will be a welcomed addition to the department Cone said. The vehicle will come equipped with a 1,250-gallon a minute pump and deck gun and will give the department two such emergency response vehicles. The Houlton Fire Department already has a 2002 pumper tanker, that also was bought from K and T.
“I just want to say great work,” councilor Rosa McNally said. “I know you worked with Nancy (Ketch, the town’s community development director). This is huge for the town.”
Cone said he was “very excited” that his department was able to secure a new vehicle with minimal impact to the taxpayers.
“I think that not only is this a great addition for Houlton, but also those contract towns we provide service to and the mutual aid towns,” Cone said. “This also staggers the (need for future) acquisitions out a little bit.”
