Andover Volunteer Fire Department
Andover, Connecticut
A History of the Andover Volunteer Fire Department.  1938 - 2013
by Scott Yeomans
Page 8
By the end of the year the membership has purchased a 1972 Chevrolet Step Van for $1,800.00 and converted it into a new rescue truck. This unit replaced the Ford Truck that had been purchased and in use since 1959.

In March of 1977, Chief Armstrong announced that he had applied for a DOT/OEMS grant toward the purchase of a Hurst Extrication Tool (Jaws of Life). The grant, which was received, was for $3,750. The remaining $1,200 needed, was appropriated from association funds. The tool was put in service in late May.
In service from 9/1976 to 10/1981
In July of the same year, the town approved the purchase of a new truck to replace the 1957 FWD. A Hahn custom pumper was ordered at a cost of $78,000. It came with a 1,250 GPM pump and a 1,000-gallon booster tank. This truck was the first of Andover's fire trucks to be powered by a diesel engine.  The FWD was sold to a fire department on Fire Island, NY in 1980.
In service from 9/1978 to 5/1991
1978 saw the department convert a surplus Army ¾ ton 4 X 4 weapons carrier into an off-road Multipurpose Attack truck for forest fires.
At the 1980 Annual Meeting, Wallace Barton Sr. was elected Chief, and Curt Dowling was elected to the position of Deputy Chief.

In 1981, due to the number of tone alert pagers assigned to members, it was decided to no longer sound the siren to rescue emergencies at night
Wallace Barton Sr.
Chief 1980 - 1982
In service from 9/1978 to 5/2011
By early spring the Town had approved the replacement of the Chevrolet Step Van that was serving as a rescue truck. The truck purchased for this purpose was a Ranger built truck, designed as a rescue truck, on a Ford chassis. The truck cost $35,000  The 1981 Ranger is given to the RHAM High School Audio/Visual Club for use as a mobile studio.  Later, the school used it as a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) support vehicle.  Due to increasing maintenance costs, RHAM – CERT retired the vehicle in 2014.
In service from 1/1982 to 11/2004
First use of the department's new Hurst Tool - 1977