With lights flashing and sirens sounding, a driver from a South Dakota fire equipment manufacturer swung into the rear parking area of the Eastern Salisbury Fire Department station along East Emmaus Avenue late afternoon July 26 to deliver a new 2013 fire engine volunteers will use to protect the residents of Salisbury Township from fire and other hazards.

The six-passenger engine was manufactured by Spartan Emergency Response Vehicles of Brandon, S.D. The chassis was manufactured in Michigan and much of the rigging for the vehicle was provided by Campbell Supply, of Edison, N.J.

The engine carries 1,000 gallons of water, and its pumps are capable of supplying 1,500 gallons of water per minute at full capacity. An extendable deck gun provides an elevated firefighting water supply. The vehicle, with a 176-inch wheelbase, is powered by a 450-horsepower Cummins engine and will carry 1,500 feet of five-inch hydrant supply lines, with another 1,500 feet of smaller attack lines and hose lines.

A six-Kilowatt generator will provide electricity for LED scene lighting and other purposes.

Six seats in the air-conditioned vehicle are rigged for individual air-supply tanks and harnesses that allow firefighters to be in full protective gear when they arrive at the scene of a fire.

The vehicle cost $366,000 as delivered. Of that amount, $266,000 was provided through the Salisbury Township emergency vehicle fund, which receives yearly allocations in the township's annual budget. A $100,000 low-interest, two percent loan was secured from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

The vehicle replaces a 1989 Pierce engine which the Eastern Salisbury Fire Department recently sold to the Good Soil Volunteer Fire Department in Saskatchewan, Canada, for $35,000. That amount will go back to the township to help build its emergency vehicle fund.

ESFD Assistant Chief Dave Tomcics said the vehicle will be placed in active service in about a month after emergency radios are installed, hoseline from the old vehicle are placed on the engine, and volunteers have had an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the new vehicle's operation.

The ESFD committee which supplied the specifications for the vehicle and oversaw its manufacture were: Dave and Lindsey Tomcics, and Robert and Robbie Curcio.