Leechburg Volunteer Fire Company takes delivery of new firetruck
Leechburg Volunteer Fire Company officials are excited about the latest addition to the company’s fleet of firefighting vehicles.
After a 10-year fundraising initiative, a new 2022 Pierce Commercial Cab fire engine that was ordered almost two years ago was delivered last Wednesday after Leechburg fire company Chief Emeritus Tom Foster drove it from Zelienople to Leechburg.
“This has been a long time coming. It took us 18 months from the time we sent the bid to the truck getting here,” said new Chief John A. Foster, who is Tom Foster’s son.
The $380,000 fire engine will replace one that the fire company bought in 1999.
The company approved the new purchase in May 2021.
It’s part of a process to upgrade older firetrucks to comply with current safety and capability standards, said Brian Scott, former fire company president.
“Over the past seven years, the members have worked very, very hard with a variety of fundraising ventures to purchase the vehicle with strictly fire company funds raised from the community,” Scott said.
Leechburg Volunteer Fire Company has two fire engines, an aerial platform and a service truck.
The old fire engine will be sold, probably to a fire company in the South, and the proceeds will be put back into the department coffers to pay the remaining balance on the new truck, Chief Foster said.
“Other fire departments down South, they have a lot of small fire companies like us that can’t afford to go out and spend half-a-million on a truck,” Tom Foster said.
The new fire engine is 32 feet long, which is shorter than the truck it is replacing.
“This vehicle is perfect for this town because it offers better maneuverability,” said Leechburg Councilman and company President D.J. Zelczak, pointing to the borough’s numerous narrow alleys and roads.
Chief Foster said the new truck should be in operation for 25 to 30 years.
The new truck features more water pumping capabilities, offering more than 750 gallons per minute than the 1999 truck.
“It runs real nice. It has a lot of power,” Tom Foster said.
Company officials hope to have the new truck outfitted and in service by the end of the month.
Officers named
Leechburg Volunteer Fire Company announced its officers for 2023:
Line officers are Chief John A. Foster; 1st Assistant Jake Lantz; 2nd Assistant Jesse Sterlitz; Chief Emeritus Tom Foster; Capts. Joe Clark, Dustin Bubb and Erik Lautzenhiser; training officer D.J. Zelczak; water rescue co-captains Joe Clark and Erik Lautzenhiser; accountability officer Taylor Bono; and fire police Capt. John O. Foster.
Executive board officers are President D.J. Zelczak, Vice President Dustin Bubb, Secretary/Treasurer John O. Foster and financial Controller Erik Lautzenhiser.
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com
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