Middlesex VFC close to outfitting new fire truck
MIDDLESEX TWP — After more than a year of waiting, the Middlesex Township Volunteer Fire Company is a step closer to having a new brush truck.
At the township’s monthly work session Wednesday, March 6, fire company president James Brown told supervisors he had finally received a suitable quote from a company willing to outfit a chassis and frame into a working brush truck.
A brush truck is a specialized type of firefighting vehicle used to maneuver through rough terrain, and are often used in response to wildfires.
According to Brown, a company in Greensburg, Westmoreland County, put forward a quote of about $143,000 to outfit the brush truck, a steep decline from a $340,000 quote the fire company had received previously.
Presently, the fire company only has the chassis and frame for the truck, but still needs to find a company to assemble the truck for firefighting use. This is something the fire company had been intending to do for more than a year, but hadn’t done yet due to higher-than-expected quotes.
The township first approved the purchase of the truck in February 2023. According to a Facebook post from Glick Fire Equipment Company from the time the original purchase was approved, the chassis belongs to a Ford F-550 Crew Cab 4x4.
Brown said it would take a year for the company to outfit the truck.
“We’re a year out in regards to what we do, which is better than most fire trucks right now, which take four years,” Brown said.
The board of supervisors is expected to vote on the quote as an action item at their upcoming meeting March 20.
