| In mid-August, the Selden Fire Department took delivery of a new brush truck, and not a moment too soon. A few days after placing the new truck in service, Long Island was struck by a historic storm which dumped record amounts of rain across the region, stranding many cars in floods on County Road 83, Boyle Road, and Mooney Pond Road.
As an all-hazards vehicle, the brush truck can move with ease through rain, flooding, and snow. After Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, and other recent major storms, the Selden Fire Department was looking for a truck capable of operating in the severe weather Long Island experiences. The mid-August storm provided an immediate test for the truck, which successfully responded to dozens of emergency calls in a short period of time.
The two-and-a-half ton truck is a remanufactured military vehicle known as a “stump-jumper.” Unlike the department’s current fleet of stump-jumpers, the new truck was purpose-built to tackle severe weather. Chief Michael Matteo of the Selden Fire Department said “It’s not only for brush fires, it’s for all weather [and] all hazards.” |
