"They normally have a five year cycle they’d like you to use. Use it for five years and then move it to reserve so you have two sets. But we never had that. We had two sets of gear but they were both 10 years old."

Now, they are replacing it piece by piece. The replacement jackets, boots, and gloves are made of a new material that is less restrictive and will allow firefighters to move faster.

"It’s now a lighter weight gear. It’s cut the weight in half. Whatever we can do to help with fatigue, weight stress in the summer time, or cold emergencies in winter time, it will actually help them with all of that," said Gussner.

The first step happened during a public hearing Thursday, when the City Council unanimously voted to rescind their late January decision to move the Hallowell Fire Department to a shared, yet-to-be-built station in Farmingdale. The hearing was the result of a petition circulated by Stephen Langsdorf that forced the council to revisit its choice to forgo contracting fire services with Augusta and instead lease space in Farmingdale.

The city must decide by April 20 whether to accept the money, build the station at Stevens Commons and enter into a binding obligation to build the station by June 20.

A fire department takes a normal truck out of service and removes its hoses and dividers to make room for the casket, which rides atop the fire engine. The problem is getting it up there.

Toting a casket, which can weigh from 100 to 300 pounds by itself, even a short distance can be difficult, and even more so lifting it to the top of a fire engine.

The firetruck was on Mitchell Road and stopped because traffic was backed up from the first accident. A vehicle failed to stop and struck the vehicle behind the fire truck, which then was rear-ended, authorities said.