WESTPORT -- With a simple radio call to dispatch, fire Lt. Bill Dingy placed the fire department's new rescue truck into service during a ceremony Tuesday afternoon.
The $351,000 truck is the first that the town has purchased with taxpayer dollars with all previous rescue trucks purchased by the Coleytown Volunteer Firefighters.
Fire Chief Denis McCarthy said putting the new rescue truck into service opens another chapter for the department.
"This represents the coming of age for rescue services for the town," he said.
The volunteers purchased trucks for the department over the years and they were originally stored at the Coleytown Fire House, which is where the volunteers were based, he said.
The first truck was white and the vehicle remained white to set it apart from the rest of the fleet, he said.
It wasn't until 1981 that the rescue truck was moved to fire headquarters so that it would be at a more central location in town, McCarthy said.
The truck that the new vehicle is replacing was originally put into service in 1983 and cost $60,0000, he said.
"It's 21 one years of service has served the town well," he said.
Dingy, who was chairman of the Rescue Truck Planning Committee, said it took five years to design, receive the funding and construct the new truck.
The process was open to anyone in the department to contribute their thoughts, he said.
The new truck has 30,000 watts of lighting, hydraulic tools and dive gear among the equipment that is on the truck, he said.
First Selectwoman Diane Farrell said it's not every day that the town purchases such an important vehicle.
Having built it from the wheels up, she said, will make it more effective for firefighters to complete their jobs.
"You know what you need at the scene," she said. "I'm glad you made suggestions because it will make a difference in saving a life or in protecting your lives." McCarthy said the old truck's ownership reverts back to the Coleytown Volunteer Firefighters, who will sell the truck.
The truck's proceeds will help the volunteers purchase equipment and take part in training, he said.
Jennifer Connic covers Westport and Weston. She can be reached at (203) 354-1043 or at westport@thehour.com.