Wolcott Orders New Fire Dept. Tanker Truck
by J.B. McKinley

WOLCOTT - Wolcott Volunteer Fire Department Chief Chan Judd wants to
announce the recent purchase of a new fire truck, a tanker. He also
wants them to know the facts surrounding the truck's purchase, which he
said has come sooner than he would have liked.
Judd explained that voters approved $10,000 last Town Meeting to be put
in a fund for replacing fire equipment, such as the 1975 International
tank truck that is being retired. But, Judd said unequivocably that the
money in that fund will not be touched without voter approval.
The newly purchased truck is a 310 horsepower International diesel 4400
series. It is being bought from Clark's Trucks in Underhill. They were
the lowest bidder. The WVFD's existing tank and other equipment will be
mounted on the new truck and it will be fully prepared and made ready
for duty by SLG of Waterbury Center. It's cost is $70,000.
Chief Judd said the old truck is simply not worth sinking more money
into repairs. He said it has bad steering, a bad clutch, a leaky rear
main seal and the body is rusted.
"It all started when the tanker went down in early summer," he
explained. He said the department looked into the cost of repairs and
considered that there would be no guarantees the fixes would last or
that the engine might suddenly give up the ghost. He said the truck is
worth about $2,000.
"It's a 30 year old hulk of rust," he said.
After considering repairing the old truck, Judd said he started looking
at the cost of a used chassis that could have the existing plastic tank
installed on it. That looked like about a $52,000 expenditure. He said
he looked at IH, Freightliners, and Macks.
Next, he took a look at new truck chassis and they seemed to be in the
$60,000 range. It was at this point that Judd said he realized a new
truck made the most sense. He went to the Wolcott Selectboard and asked
for a special town meeting, but that was deemed unnecessary.
At the selectboard, Judd said he told his story and was asked to get all
the figures together and bring them back to the board. Having done so,
Judd noted that "the selectboard is backing me 100%."
"The truck was ordered with their backing," said Chief Judd. Funding has
been secured through the Union Bank, and once again, he stressed that
the equipment fund has not been touched. Judd believes he saved a
considerable amount of money by ordering the truck before the end of
this year.
"This truck we're getting is a 30 year truck," said Judd, who added he'd
like to take delivery sometime in February 2005.
"I want to make sure the town understands how appreciative we are for
the support of the town," said Fire Chief Judd.