Assistant Chief Elisha Snider says the boat was a much needed addition since it is the only one in Marshall County among the fire departments. Snider said, in the past, the fire department used their personal boats or relied on boats from other counties.

"We needed a boat that had the capability, not only to just get out there and put out a fire on the water or next to the water, but a boat that we could get people on that are injured and have room to work on them," Snider said.

 

The flames broke out in a rear dorm room on the second floor adjacent to a furnace in the wall, said Oceanside Fire Department Battalion Chief Scott Stein.  

People driving by saw the fire at 3101 Oceanside Blvd. and reported it, said Stein.Twenty-seven firefighters from Carlsbad and other stations in Oceanside responded to the scene to put out the fire. The five Oceanside firefighters who were on duty with Station 3 were not available at the time the flames broke out.

The committee decided that with the “intense growth” in the Bluffton area-- they believe that will bring additional impact fees that offer additional funds to complete the entire project without county assistance.  

As of May 29, no contract has been signed, so the estimate is subject to change, but officials are hoping to have a contractor officially hired and the preliminary work can begin within the next 60 days.

The $645,000 piece of equipment, which needed no extra funds for the color change, is stainless steel, includes a nearly silent engine that keeps the truck quiet, has a tight-turning radius for Swampscott’s narrow roads and comes equipped with an approach and departure angle that allows it to go up steep hills.  

The fire department’s seven-person truck selection committee deliberated for more than 10 months on every detail that went into the engine. Archer, a member of the committee, said the idea to stray from tradition and go blue came from the younger firefighters who grew up playing on Big Blue sports teams, and whose children play on them now.

The process for getting a new engine began in 2017, after the department received approval from the Capital Improvement Committee, Finance Committee and annual Town Meeting to use funds from the budget to pay for it. Then, Archer said they put it out to bid for a year before deciding to go with Seagrave, a manufacturer based in Wisconsin.