Freeport Fire Department adds state-of-the-art pumper truck

As the Freeport Fire Department unveiled a new state-of-the-art pumper truck Sunday, officials said they were trying to ensure firefighters have equipment they can depend on.

“We want to make sure ... [the firefighters] are safe,” Freeport Mayor Robert T. Kennedy said.

Close to 100 people, including firefighters, village residents and local officials, attended the ceremony inside the Patriot Hose Company No. 4, where the new apparatus, which is replacing a 23-year-old truck, will be stationed.

The new truck, which cost the village close to $1 million, took about three years to design and another year to be built, officials said. The 2021 Ferrara fire apparatus can pump water at 1,500 gallons a minute to extinguish fires. It also features new LED lighting, larger cabin space, and a unit that carries foam to extinguish fires.

“You try to keep up with the modern changes in the fire services,” Chief of Department Scott Donnelly said. “It benefits you by the reliability of having a piece of apparatus that you know is not going to be down when it goes out and that’s what you hope for.”

The Freeport Fire Department has 370 volunteers and responds to about 2,500 emergency calls, including fires, car and boat crashes, and gas leaks, among other calls, Kennedy said.

Kennedy, along with Honorary Chief Artie Boulukos, welcomed the truck by breaking two Champagne bottles on the front bumper. He noted that the truck being replaced will be used as backup for the department as it looks to purchase new trucks in the near future. The fire department in the last four years has spent nearly $5 million on fire apparatus used by its members, he said.

“They’re out there fighting fires every day. They’re volunteers, they’re not paid, and we want to make sure they have safe and reliable equipment to get out and get home safe,” Kennedy said.