A big event
for the greater Emmitsburg community
as well as the men and women of the
Vigilant Hose Company was the
arrival on Wednesday, May 22nd of
the much-anticipated new heavy
rescue vehicle, "Squad 6."
Such is
always a big deal in a small
community and certainly that’s
true hereabouts, too, as the
Vigilant Hose Company enjoys
tremendous community-wide support.
New Squad 6 replaces the 24-year old
unit that was just donated 2 weeks
ago to a needy rural fire department
in Pine Mountain, Arkansas, located
in the Ozarks about 45 miles south
of Branson, Missouri. To say that
Pine Mountain firefighters were
pleased with their new acquisition
would be an understatement! They
returned to a large reception of
their local citizens who were very
proud, too.
In addition
to a wide range of specialty tools
and equipment, the new vehicle is
unique in that it arrived with all
of those tools/equipment
pre-mounted. This is the first time
that Pierce Manufacturing has ever
undertaken to do so. For them, this
service was a trial run to see if
this is something they want to offer
as a service to purchasers of their
product line (and apparently they
were very pleased with how all
turned out).
Total unit
cost, after new radios are
installed, will be on the order of
$470,000. A formal dedication
ceremony is set for Sunday, June 30,
after the unit has been displayed at
several local fire equipment shows
and all personnel have been
thoroughly trained on all new
equipment to include drivers gaining
experience in safe handling of the
new unit.