The passenger area of the 2000 Spartan Gladiator pumper truck features seating that allows firefighters to wear their oxygen tanks. (Joseph Cyr)
LINNEUS, Maine — Linneus Fire Chief Mark Ganzel still has a hard time believing how the bright-yellow fire engine sitting inside the department’s garage came to be.
The Middletown Fire Department in Connecticut offered the Aroostook County town a 2000 Spartan Gladiator pumper truck with no strings attached. The rig, which was valued at $340,000 when it was new, arrived in Linneus Saturday morning, April 1.
Ganzel, along with a couple of members of the local department, made the whirlwind trip to Connecticut to bring the vehicle home and celebrated its arrival Saturday morning.
So how exactly did the Linneus Fire Department receive such a generous donation?
Back in November, Ganzel said he received a phone call from Aroostook County EMA Director Darren Woods who informed the chief that there was an opportunity the town could be added to a short list of communities in the running for the gifted engine.
The bright yellow pumper tanker from the Middletown, Connecticut Fire Department came already lettered for the Linneus Fire Department. (Joseph Cyr)
“When I received this information, I immediately got excited,” Ganzel said. “I had to make sure [Linneus Town Manager] Carroll Willette was on board with us applying. I then called a phone number to see what we had to do to apply, and right then and there I was interviewed.”
Ganzel said he went through three different phone interviews that same evening, explaining why their department should be chosen.
“After going through an interview process, we were placed at the top of the list for consideration,” Ganzel said. “I recall telling the chief [Robert Kronenberger] that this all sounded too good to be true and wondered what the catch was.”
Kronenberger told Ganzel that the Middletown Fire Department was authorized to purchase a new vehicle in 2017, but had to liquidate a vehicle in order for that purchase to happen. After first trying to sell the vehicle outright — and getting offers that were below market value — the chief came up with the idea of giving the vehicle to a needy department.
One of Kronenberger’s lieutenants, Paul Heck, has a relative on the North Lakes Fire and Rescue Department that is managed by Chief Woods here in Maine.
Ganzel said at first he was skeptical of the donation, fearing that the vehicle might come with a bunch of needed repairs. But when he arrived in Connecticut Friday to pick up the rig, he was amazed at the condition of fire truck.
“This is a fully-functioning pumper tanker,” Ganzel said. “There is no rot, rust or anything. It’s incredible.”
Members of the Linneus Fire Department perform the tradition of pushing a “new” vehicle into the bay. The department received a 2000 Spartan Gladiator pumper at no cost from the Middletown Fire Department in Connecticut. (Joseph Cyr)
On top of that, the Middletown department went the extra mile, having the 30-foot vehicle lettered with “Linneus Fire Department” and also donated a set of vehicle cutters used to extract people from vehicles following a car accident. The Linneus Fire Department has never had this type of equipment for emergency responses, Ganzel said.
The vehicle also has two red ribbons and firefighter numbers in memory of Middletown firefighters Charles Rau and Captain Joe Pagano who died in the line of duty. Ganzel said those numbers will remain on the vehicle to honor those firemen who gave their lives.
“This extremely generous donation of the fire truck will affect the lives of more than just those in our community,” Ganzel added. “It will also reach out in a life-saving way to many other communities adjacent to ours during times of mutual aid. For communities our size, with very small budgets and built entirely by volunteer firefighters, it is just a dream to make a purchase the size required to receive such a vital piece of equipment like a fire truck.”
