Brookfield firefighters Joey Milano, left, and Jordan Streamo stand with the department’s new rescue truck, which was just put into service.
Brookfield Fire Department put its new rescue truck in service in September. The truck replaces one that rusted out and was put out of service in 2024.
The new truck holds more equipment, which gave firefighters a chance to rethink the equipment it carries.
The department bought the 2005 Rosenbauer pumper truck from Bristol Fire Department in July for $100,000.
“This is going to be our first-out truck on everything except structure fires and fire alarm drops,” Brookfield Chief David Masirovits said. “It’s a well-built, very nice truck, well laid out.”
Masirovits had been examining ways to buy a newly built truck when this used model became available. A new model would cost about $850,000, Masirovits said in April. The Rosenbauer should buy the department time to “get some budget issues in order and maybe look at purchasing a new apparatus.”
The body of the department’s ladder truck is rusting out, but a new ladder truck would cost about $1.7 million to purchase, Masirovits said.
The Rosenbauer will be the first truck to respond to calls such as traffic crashes, industrial accidents, brush fires, farm accidents and hazardous material incidents. It will be the second call for structure fires – it carries 750 gallons of water – and allows Brookfield’s firefighters, who also are paramedics or emergency medical technicians, to administer first aid if an ambulance is not immediately available, Masirovits said.
Some of the new equipment stored on the truck was added to better address industrial accidents and other calls that are “specific to Brookfield,” the chief said. The small hand tools, wedges, hammers, wrenches, ratchets, screwdriver sets and drills could be used to free “someone with their hand stuck in a machine, a press, two rollers; perhaps, a farmer in a field stuck in a combine or something like that,” Masirovits said.
The truck carries more fire extinguishers, of the water, dry chemical and carbon dioxide variety, to better address more fire scenarios.
While the newly purchased extrication tools are all battery-powered, some of the power saws still are gas powered to give more torque, when needed, Masirovits said.
The grain bin rescue equipment – which had been kept at the station – fits on the new truck, which also carries equipment for water rescues, woodland rescues and firefighter decontamination at fire scenes.
