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By MELINDA DALTON
The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario)

Yesterday was the day the volunteer members of the North Dumfries Township Fire Department had been waiting for.

The department's new-to-them aerial boom truck was due to arrive at the Ayr fire hall in the late afternoon.

"We were looking forward to it because it's not that often a volunteer department gets a good used truck,"said North Dumfries Fire Chief Paul Van Scheyndel.

"It's something to be proud of, purchasing a new vehicle."

By mid-afternoon, the excitement was building and firefighters were making plans to swing by the fire hall and check out the department's newest acquisition.

But shortly after 3 p.m. Van Scheyndel's cellphone started to ring.

"My stomach's been turning since that call," he said last night.

Shortly before 3 p.m., escorted by a car carrying the deputy chief and another firefighter, the truck was making its way to its new home from Owen Sound.

The wind picked up when the truck, carrying two more firefighters, reached Wellington County Road 17 just west of County Road 7 near Alma.

A transport truck travelling in the opposite direction was rocked by the wind storm, its empty trailer veering into the oncoming lane, Wellington OPP said.

Without time to stop, the fire truck collided with the trailer, causing extensive damage to both vehicles, OPP said.

The firefighters in the truck received minor injuries and the driver of the transport was taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

But the truck wasn't so lucky. The 1996 teleboom truck, which is used to fight fires on the upper floors of buildings, was bought used from the Owen Sound Fire Department to replace North Dumfries' aging ladder truck. The ladder truck, a 1975 model, was purchased from the Cambridge Fire Department nearly 20 years ago.

"The big problem is that it's old and when it breaks down, parts are hard to get a hold of," Van Scheyndel said. "It's slow and it's done its work."

New telescopic ladder trucks can run as much as $375,000, he said.

The Owen Sound truck only set the North Dumfries Fire Department back $130,000.

Members of the fire department have been working on the deal to buy the truck since May when they found out about it at a fire chiefs' convention, Van Scheyndel said

"A lot of guys worked hard to get that truck and they're definitely disappointed," he said.

"It would have helped us out a lot."

The damage to the truck is mainly at the front end, but because emergency service vehicles are held to high safety standards, Van Scheyndel said they're still not sure if they'll be able to save it.

Until they figure out what to do with the truck that never made it to its new home, the fire department will have to make do with what they have.

"We'll have to put the old one back in service again," Van Scheyndel said. "We're disappointed, but we want to make sure we can still protect the community."