Fire Captain Steve Lowe confirmed the water tender belonged to Anderson. The California Highway Patrol reported the vehicle rolled over in the area of Gas Point and Black Pine roads, where Gas Point turns north toward a few miles south of the Northern California Veterans Cemetery.

The water tender was en route to assist fighting the Fiddler Fire, which burned 11 acres Wednesday evening near Fiddlers Road and Straight Arrow Road, southwest of Ono.

CHP Officer Jason Morton said the driver may have been going too fast - about 45 mph in an area with a suggested speed of less than half of that. The water tender also crashed through a barbed wire fence and damaged about 60 feet of the wire, Morton said.

The down payment for the vehicle was made with money garnered through fundraising, and monthly payments will be made over a five-year term.

"They took a cab and chassis and turned it into a fire truck," said James Heap, Frederick fire chief.

The truck features a 600-gallon water tank along with cages in which firefighters can ride. The truck also has storage space for multiple hand tools to be used for range fires.

The newest truck replaces the department's 1973 model brush truck that has racked many miles and much wear and tear through the years.

Since April 13, nearly 40,000 Verizon workers from Massachusetts to Virginia have been on strike, culminating 10 months of failed contract negotiations. As of early this week, the two labor unions representing the workers remained at the bargaining table with Verizon management. It is impossible to predict how long the strike will last.

The new $7.7 million, 20-600-square-foot fire station is essentially finished, Ambriscoe said. "We've already started moving in," Ambriscoe said, but the building still lacks a certificate of occupancy, which it cannot obtain until the state certifies that it has inspected the building's elevator. That inspection would have occurred many weeks ago except that the elevator's emergency telephone was not in service.

More importantly, Verizon workers have not been available to connect the 911 lines to the station's dispatch center. Earlier in the strike, a small group of non-union Verizon workers brought the telephone connection from the street into the building, but it has not yet been connected to the 911 consoles or the building's regular telephone system.

"It's in the building. Now we just need someone to hook it up," Ambriscoe said. Verizon workers are the only ones who can connect the 911 system, the chief added.

In the interest of allowing the open house to go forward, the town had Comcast install an emergency telephone line for the elevator that uses the building's high-speed internet connection.

It replaces the Department's original fire station built in 1897.

"The old fire station, as you can see it hasn't changed much since it was built in 1897. It's certainly served the community well, but it has long past met our needs. We are currently working out of three different buildings in two geographic locations, and this project for a new fire station has been in the making for 14 years now," said Bristol Fire Chief Brent LaRose.

Chief LaRose hopes to create a museum area inside the new building as a nod to the Department's history. He says much of the new furniture has been donated and fundraised by the community. Firefighters should be all moved in by the end of June.

At the meeting, the city council amended Mayor Donald Grebien's budget by adding $100,000 to it to repair public safety buildings, but the president of the fire union believes the department only needs $50,000 to repair the aging fire station.

Union President Will Maher says, "I do believe there is a window of opportunity to keep the building open. I'm encouraged by the fact that money was put into the budget, which will give us a little more time to maintain the building and deal with the city and try to come up with a solution that's amicable to everybody."

But, Mayor Grebien says he is looking for $1.8 million in concessions to offset the cost of the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant Pawtucket isn't receiving this year.