Andover Volunteer Fire Department
Andover, Connecticut
A History of the Andover Volunteer Fire Department. 1938 - 2013
by Scott Yeomans
Page 13
A new heavy duty Rescue Truck arrived in December, 1998. This truck, with a body manufactured by Becker Inc., built on a Freightliner chassis, hosts; a 15 foot - 6,000 watt light tower, a pre-connected heavy duty Hurst "Jaws of Life" tool with 20,000 lbs. of spreading/pulling force capability, a heavy duty Hurst Cutting tool, and Hurst rams. This vehicle also has an onboard air cascade system for refilling SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) tanks and a lot more rescue tools. While the $193,700 cost of the vehicle was paid by the town, the AFD Association donated $10,000 worth of new equipment, purchased from its memorial funds, to be carried on the truck.
A thermal imaging camera was added to the department’s tool set in June, 2000. This unit is used to detect fire extension into walls and other area that are not easily detected by look and feel. The $18,500 cost was paid for by benefactor Nancy
In service from 12/1998 to present
1998 Becker Heavy Duty Rescue on a Freightliner chassis.
In a move to modernize the recording and reporting of call statistics, the department purchased and implemented the use of "Fire House" software. This program replaced the use of paper and pen call logging and the manual compilation of data for reporting department activity. Expand state reporting? Interface with ambulance billing company???
In October, 2000, the department’s vehicles were outfitted with a strobe, an “Opticom Emitter," that changes the traffic lights to a favorable status for the apparatus as it approaches an intersection. This makes for a smoother and safer transition through intersections.
January, 2001 saw the department benefactor once again make a significant donation. This time she gave the membership $6,500 to be used to purchase Class A uniforms for all of the active members. A class A uniform consists of the usual pants, shirt, and hat but also includes an over coat.
At the May, 2001 annual town meeting, the town approved a Tax Abatement plan for active firefighters. The plan would award up to a $1,000 tax abatement to members of the Association that hold either a medical or firefighter certification, made at least 15% of calls during the previous accounting period. The amount of the abatement increases with a firefighter’s years of service. The plan also provides for a member earning a lifetime abatement after many years of active service.
Add photo of class A uniform
New Patch Old Patch
In late 2001, the commission approved purchasing a skid mount unit for the Forestry truck to replace the home made tank and old pump that were installed when the truck was placed in service. A unit that Connecticut Fire Apparatus had was acquired for $13,416. The Forestry truck was stripped of its old equipment and the new unit was installed and functional in April, 2002.
The new skid mount unit on the 1952 Dodge. This unit was moved to the repurposed 1988 Ford Service truck in 5/2011
At their May, 2002 meeting, the Fire Commission was informed that, with their consent, a department benefactor would purchase a 1975 Mack Baker 75ft Aerial Scope fire truck, have it refurbished and donate it to the town. The commission agreed to accept the truck once it was reconditioned. This unit was retired by the Glastonbury Fire Department in 2001. Benefactor purchased the truck for $6,001 and spent approximately $60,000 more getting it ready for service, including the replacement of the manual transmission with an automatic one. The Association also spent $10,000 of its funds to buy equipment to outfit the truck. Andover’s first aerial piece went into service 1/8/2003.
With the arrival of the aerial truck, the fire house no longer had room to store all the active equipment and the 1923 American LaFrance pumper; Engine 33. As the 1969 agreement that brought the antique to Andover for use in parades and musters, left the ownership of the truck with the Eastern Connecticut Fire School, in July, 2003, it was decided to return the truck to the school. The engine continues to wear “Andover” on its hood and has returned to Andover on several special occasions for parades.
In August, 2003, the Association began billing for Ambulance services rendered. This brought to fruition efforts that began more than ten years earlier when the first presentation on billing for ambulance calls was made to the Fire Commission by Certified Ambulance Group. Earlier in 2003, three companies were interviewed with regard to supplying billing services to the Association. In the end, the company Holdsworth and Pelton was chosen to supply this service.
In service from 1/2003 to present
The Aerial truck as it looked when it served Glastonbury
