PLAINFIELD — After 33 years, the town’s International-brand fire engine is being retired, making way for a 2024 Spartan.

Costing $677,000, the new engine “means another 30 years of reliable, safe equipment,” said Fire Chief Rob Shearer, who detailed its features.

While traditional firetrucks have a pump on the side, said Shearer, this truck serves as a catwalk for the water pump located on top. This, he said, prevents firefighters from “having to stand either in a ditch or the middle of the road” while they attend to a fire, and also allows firefighters a 360-degree view of the emergency scene.

And while the town’s old engine could accommodate only two firefighters, the new cab accommodates from four to eight people, allowing firefighters enough space to warm up, cool down and rehab while on the scene, as well as ample storage for equipment needed to respond to incidents ranging from structural fires to motor vehicle accidents and rescues.

The engine’s overall design provides a tight turning radius and a shorter wheelbase for stability and travel over rural roads, Shearer said, and features a 1,250-gallon-per-minute pump and a 1,280-gallon tank.

The pumper attached to the top is an E-One Custom Pumper that sits on a Spartan chassis and houses a 450 hp L9 Cummins engine. The new engine replaces a 1992 Pierce Pumper on an International chassis.

The purchase followed a year and a half hunt by the town’s Truck Committee, organized to anticipate the eventual need for a new truck. It wasn’t until later that the old firetruck started becoming less reliable and needing more repairs, which precipitated the purchase. The purchase of the truck was approved by town vote in the spring of 2023, said Shearer.

The community gathered earlier this month to celebrate their truck, before a traditional “push in” was ceremoniously completed by members of the department on Jan. 11. The old truck will be sold.

“The community has been thrilled,” said Shearer, adding that “our community has always supported us to the fullest. They understand that not only does the department need reliability, but a truck that’s safe,” he said.

Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com.