Fire Department Readies New Engine 2 for Service

The after waiting through a year-long design and building process, is now in possession of shiny new Engine 2, which Fire Chief Bill Middlemiss hopes will be going into service this weekend.

Before that happens, Lexington firefighters are at the Bridge School this week, receiving training on the truck's features, including an electronic pump panel and other technologies and equipment that differ on the department's current trucks.

Engine 2 replaces a 1997 E-1 pumper with more than 100,000 miles, taken offline Friday, July 23 when Engine 2 was delivered, and will be housed at the East Lexington Fire Station. The current Engine 2 in East Lexington will be renumbered as Engine 3 and moved to Fire Headquarters on Bedford Street.

The engine – an Igniter cab Multi-Vocational Pumper – cost $540,000 including the trade-in value of the 1997 engine it replaces, with fall Town Meeting in 2009 appropriating $500,000 for the truck.

It which will function as a pumper and rescue truck, and was designed with input from a group of Lexington firefighters, so its features could be tailored to the town's needs both geographically and for the type of calls the engine will respond to, Middlemiss said.

"There are a lot of benefits – this truck was made for the town," Middlemiss said. "Three to four guys put a lot of consideration into what we wanted, what we needed, what's missing and the pros and cons of the current trucks."

Engine 2 was designed with Rte. 2 and I-95 in mind, as it will respond to 3/4 of highway accident calls. It has a wealth of rescue equipment built in, including the Jaws of Life, jacks and stabilizing bars.

"We're out on the highway so much doing a lot of extrication calls, there's a lot of specialized equipment we have to carry," Middlemiss said. "This has what Engine 1 has, but 100 percent more."

The truck also has higher clearance in back for getting up the steep hills in some parts of town, and the light tower and water cannon on the top of the truck are retractable to fit into the bay in East Lexington.

The engine comes with other up-to-date features, including LED illumination, retractable tool boards versus those locked in place, and an electronic pump panel that is smaller and enclosed. The front bumper was even designed with storage space included.

Engine 2 has a 500-gallon water tank with a 1,500 gallon-per-minute pump, and also carries 30 gallons of foam concentrate. Colored lights on the side of the truck also show how much water is left in the tank – and can be seen from far away, not just on the pump panel like on other trucks, Middlemiss said.

There is also more storage space, providing room for extension ladders, Hazmat containment supplies, salvage covers and ropes. Fire extinguishers and air bottles are stored over the wheel wells, taking advantage of what is dead space on other trucks.

"Really, there isn't space on the truck that's not used," Middlemiss said.

Middlemiss says he expects to get 12 to 15 years out of the new engine, the typical lifetime for such a truck. The department gets a new truck about every two years, and its latest purchases were in 2008, 2005 and 2003, he said.

"It's staggered so we don't have a massive break down all at once," he said.

The truck, built in Louisiana, could go to its first call as early as this Saturday. The cab can fit five firefighters, and will be operated by a crew of three.

"Hopefully it will be in service this coming weekend, Middlemiss said.