Our new Spartan Motors 2019 2000gpm Pumper/Tanker has arrived and will be undergoing operator training the week of May 19-25. We hope to have it in service by Memorial Day.

Spring has begun and you may have noticed some activity at the Cronomer Valley Fire Dept.. The District has sold our American LaFrance Pumper, Engine 306 to Walnuttown Fire and Rescue, PA. Shortly we will be receiving a new Spartan Engine to replace the engine as Engine 304. It has been on order since last year and will be here in a few weeks. Pictures can be viewed on Spartan’s website.
Last month we adopted to purchase a demonstration-model 100′ Aerial Truck made by Spartan to replace our American LaFrance Tower Ladder after our voters approved the bond resolution. The demo unit is red and after many discussions, the board voted to make the new Engine 304 red, since it was on the production line and would match the aerial. The new aerial should be here the end of June. We are looking forward to training on these new vehicles and hope to provide you with many years of service.

For those who don’t know, Cronomer Valley started using Lime-Green as it’s color back in 1970’s due to a study done by an Optometrist named Solomon. He concluded Yellow-Green trucks have higher visibility and less likely to be involved in accidents. In 1995, studies since have also concluded that Red and White trucks are 2 to 3 times more likely to be involved in an accident than Lime-Yellow trucks. In 2009, NFPA adopted a standard of reflective markings on any new Apparatus. These markings of reflective flourescent colors make apparatus more visible and are likely to cut down due the high number of firefighter fatalities in vehicle accidents.

Also in the works at our station is the construction of a new training site. You may have noticed trees being cleared and several activities going on. The new training site will have a module type “burn building” where we will be able to burn contents and simulate interior fire attack in a controlled environment. Training of this type is currently done at the Orange County Fire Training Center in New Hampton, NY. Crews must travel 40-45 minutes in each direction to receive this training. Our new site will give us more time to spend on training our people and cut down on travel time and availability of apparatus and equipment. The site will also have other training for vehicle extrication, pumper operations, and self contained breathing apparatus confidence training.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter with us, feel free to stop by and discuss what it takes. The best time to stop by is a Monday or Wednesday night. You can also submit an interest in joining on this site under the “Join Us” tab.