Vt. fire department gets help to buy new truck

The department will purchase a 1987 Grumman Aerial Cat ladder truck

April 18, 2011 05:11 AM

By Chris Garofolo
The Brattleboro Reformer

CHESTERFIELD, N.H. — A $65,000 donation will assist the Chesterfield Fire Department in bringing a new ladder truck into its assembly of vehicles.

The department received the check on Friday afternoon from Connecticut residents John and Rita Chakolas, who have a home in West Chesterfield, to help purchase a 1987 Grumman Aerial Cat ladder truck.

The ladder truck was donated in the name of the couple’s grandson, Nathan J. Carman.

Chesterfield Fire Chief Jeffrey Chickering said the Chakolas family purchased the current 1972 ladder truck, which the department has recently had difficulty keeping in good repair. After Chakolas caught wind of the situation, he offered to aid in the acquisition of a new vehicle for Chesterfield.

The 102-foot tower ladder truck, coming up from the Matthews, N.C., Fire Department, is expected to be in New Hampshire by the end of the month.

The vehicle has a 1,250 gallons-per-minute pump, and will provide more benefits to the department as opposed to the present ladder truck, such as greater safety with roof operations.

“We’ll be able to put personnel right into an enclosed cage at the end of the ladder rather than working off the end of it. It has a lot more stability and is a lot more rugged,” Chickering said. “Overall, a much newer, better piece of apparatus.”

As for the 1972 model, Chesterfield fire officials plan to put the vehicle on the market and find a buyer.

“We’re hoping to find a good home for it, if someone’s looking to buy an older piece of apparatus,” Chickering said.

Apparatus