Andover Volunteer Fire Department
Andover, Connecticut
A History of the Andover Volunteer Fire Department. 1938 - 2013
by Scott Yeomans
Page 12
By early 1991, it was felt that the 1978 Hahn, ET215, was in need of significant work. E-One Inc. was contracted to undertake a complete overhaul of the truck. The truck arrived at E-One’s factory in Florida in May and its disassembly began at once. It quickly became evident that the truck had more extensive problems than originally thought, primarily extensive rust damage. Further work on the truck was halted immediately. Instead of continuing to refurbish the Hahn, attention turned to quickly finding a replacement for it. In July it was determined that E-One had a "spec" truck that was currently being built that would meet the towns needs as a replacement for the Hahn. The truck was scheduled to be completed in September. The FD Commission voted to purchase that truck for $184,500. The new truck was accepted by the town on 10/16/1991 and placed in service shortly thereafter. In late 2012, this truck, now 21 years old, was sent to Gowans-Knight Inc. to be refurbished at a cost of $128,000. The truck was be taken out of service and dropped off in November. The work went smoothly and the truck was returned to service in March, 2013.
The 1991 E-One as delivered
The 1991 E-One after its refurbishment
E-One Cyclone Tilt Cab. Carries 1,000 gallons of water and pumps 1,500 gallons per minute. Carries 2,000' of 4" large diameter supply line.
At the Association’s annual meeting in March, 1992 Shawn Covell was elected to the position of Deputy Chief, dues were raised from $3 to $5, and J. Russell Thompson presented the bell from the 1938 Maxim to the membership. This bell had been given to Russ by the department at the end of his tenure as Chief in 1968.
In March, 1993, the Association purchased the department’s first AED (Automated External Defibrillator) for $3,635. The purchase was made primarily with monies donated to the department in the memory of Nancy Hegener. A second AED was donated to the department in July, 1999. – Nancy
With the move to new Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) that utilize air pressures of 4,500 psi (the older SCBAs only used 2,200 psi), the department’s old compressor became obsolete as it was not capable of filling the new units to capacity. In September, 1995, a new compressor and high pressure air storage system were purchased and installed in the station. This system cost $29,975. With the new system operational, the old trailer mounted compressor, was sold to the West Thompson Fire Department for $2,000.
A new Ambulance was placed in service in February, 1996. Like its predecessor, this new unit was a Horton Modular built on a Ford chassis. This vehicle cost $88,520.
The 1938 Maxim Parading at New London - the bell can be seen just behind the cab.
In service from 2/1996 to 5/2005
Since January 1, 1988, the town wide alert sirens had not blown for medical calls that were received between 9pm and 6am. On January 1, 1997, the routine sounding of the town sirens to alert firefighters to an alarm was stopped altogether. These sirens were critical to the calling of firefighters since the beginnings of the department but their role had been virtually eliminated by the distribution of tone alert radios (pagers) to all active personnel. Once the original fire house was readied, the siren was moved there and most of the buildings on Center Street were wired so that it could be started from any of them as well as from the station. As time went by, two additional sirens were placed about the town.
In June, 1997, after many years of discussion, the Fire Commission agreed to include a new item in its next budget request. The budget would have a line item to be used to reimburse active firefighters a token amount to partially offset the costs that they incur in responding to emergencies. $5,000 was requested and approved that first year, to be distributed among all firefighters who responded to at least 15% of the total call volume. Firefighters receive one point for every call that they attend. Each year the total points earned by those firefighters who meet the 15% threshold are divided into the total amount available to determine each person’s share. For the first distribution, each eligible person received a little over $2 for each call that they responded to.
The department’s first boat went into service in September, 1998. With two large bodies of water, many smaller ones though out the town and a number of department members active with the Tolland County Rescue Divers organization, this was a long overdue addition to the arsenal.
In service from 9/1998 to 9/2008
14' Zodiac. 25 horsepower Yamaha engine
