CROSS LAKE Twp., Maine — North Lakes Fire & Rescue, a department that covers several unorganized townships and territories in northern Aroostook County, just replaced its 1974 fire truck with a brand new 2024 Deep South fire truck with a 2,000-gallon tank.
The department has stations in the Cross Lake, Madawaska Lake and Sinclair townships. Its fleet consists of six vehicles, including the new truck.
The new truck, which Deputy Fire Chief Derrick Ouellette said costs roughly $330,000, was primarily covered by federal grant funding. Ninety-five percent of the costs were covered through the Assistance to Firefighters Grants Program. The remaining five percent will be covered through the Aroostook County budget.
Ouellette said the old truck had numerous issues, and that the grant required the department to sell the old truck, as it can no longer be used as a fire engine.
The 1974 truck will be put out to bid and sold. Money from the sale will go toward outfitting the new truck. Ouellette said the truck can no longer be used for firefighting, even after it’s sold. He said farmers will often buy these trucks to help clean potato houses.
Some of the issues with the old truck include air leakage, electrical problems, faulty gauges and inadequate lighting inside the vehicle, Ouellette said.
The old truck had traveled just less than 50,000 miles throughout its life.
“That’s also not a good thing for a diesel engine,” Ouellette said. “To go from sitting around in the station doing nothing to responding to a call, it’s hard on it.”
The new vehicle will adhere to National Fire Protection Association compliance standards and include modern safety features such as a backup camera, a better center of gravity for tanks, improved braking, an improved turning radius and anti-collision technology.
And while the tank is roughly the same size, Ouellette said the new tank will be built with anti-corrosive materials allowing it to last longer.
“This engine is actually a pumper tanker, so we can fill this engine up and act as a tanker to shuttle water as well,” he said.
This feature will be helpful if North Lakes Fire & Rescue is called to act as mutual aid for a neighboring fire department in Aroostook County.
The truck has not been used yet. Ouellette said that he and Chief Darren Woods are in the process of training the crew to use the new vehicle and to ensure everyone is comfortable driving it.
He said it is much easier to drive than the previous vehicle.
“It’s like driving a pickup versus driving a school bus,” he said.
Ouellette said this has been a big morale booster for the crew.
“Having something new like this, where we’re not going to have to fix it every time we use it, is very good,” he said.
