CARIBOU, Maine — A brand new, fully customized $585,000 MVP Rescue Pumper just arrived at Caribou Fire Department.
Since Tuesday afternoon, April 11, the CFD crew has been hard at work adding equipment to the vehicle’s numerous storage compartments, fueling it up, and tailoring everything to their needs.
The vehicle was manufactured by Ferrara Fire Apparatus, a corporation based out of Holden, La.
Caribou Fire Chief Scott Susi explains that the department’s new MVP Rescue Pumper is equipped with cameras to help drivers detect blindsides while turning. (Staff photo/Christopher Bouchard)
“They built it from the frame up,” said Caribou Fire Chief Scott Susi, “and there’s no exposed metal on the truck. Everything rusts, but we should get more years than I’ve ever imagined out of this. Everything has been coated.”
The chief said there are cameras placed all around the truck to ensure driver safety and to better handle blindsides while turning. The truck also includes a front compartment with a hose that sprays fire-suppressing foam, numerous storage spaces on the sides, a retractable light, and bright colored lights on the left and right side that indicate how much fuel is left in the vehicle.
“The whole top of the truck is storage,” said Chief Susi as he and his crew worked on the vehicle. “We’re using that for the things you gotta have but don’t necessarily use all the time.”
While the attitude was positive regarding the new rescue pumper, Susi said his crew has been working very hard to customize the truck to the department’s standards.
“Right now they’re tired,” Susi said. “It’s a lot of work getting it ready.”
While the Caribou Fire and Ambulance team needs to spend a bit more time equipping the vehicle, Susi said on Thursday afternoon that it could respond to a fire at a moment’s notice.
When City Council approved the purchase of this firetruck, a point the chief emphasized is that it works as two vehicles in one, effectively replacing two existing and aging vehicles. It can respond to a fire and also to emergencies that require equipment like the jaws of life.
Caribou Fire Chief Scott Susi pulls out a hose stored in the front compartment of the Department’s new MVP Rescue Pumper, which is equipped to shoot fire-fighting foam. (Staff photo/Christopher Bouchard)
“It’ll serve the city for many years,” Susi said. “It’s even better than I thought it was going to be.”
