Lamoine Quarterly 1-05 Page 6

Taking Shape
Lamoine’s new fire truck, a rescue/pumper, is under construction at MetalFab in Centerville, NB. Funding for the new truck was approved twice by voters in 2004. Shown here in December, the truck features a 2005 Navistar chassis with a water tank and high powered pump and storage space for all the fire department’s rescue gear. Delivery is expected in February 2005.

Town of Lamoine, Maine
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The Lamoine Quaterly - January 2005

New Rescue Truck Arrives in February (Lamoine) — Construction is moving faster than expected on the town’s newest piece of firefighting apparatus. The 2005 fire truck should arrive in early February once it passes all its pumping tests at the factory outside of Island Falls, Maine. The new truck is a combination pumper and rescue truck and will replace a 1975 American LaFrance the town purchased as a used truck a few years ago. Fire department officials proposed the new truck to the town meeting as a way of helping to keep the ISO fire insurance rating low, thus keeping homeowner insurance rates lower. A petition asked for a referendum vote following the vote in open town meeting last March that overwhelmingly approved purchase of the truck. The referendum vote also passed by a healthy margin. Once the new truck is in service, rescue equipment scattered among several vehicles in the fire department fleet will be moved to the new truck, which will be a first response vehicle. Because it’s also a pumper, the truck will prove valuable for fire protection as well as rescues. The town will sell the 1975 truck, and chief Skip Smith plans to meet with Selectmen in early January to discuss the best way to dispose of the older truck.
	Taking Shape Lamoine’s new fire truck, a rescue/pumper, is under construction at MetalFab in Centerville, NB. Funding for the new truck was approved twice by voters in 2004. Shown here in December, the truck features a 2005 Navistar chassis with a water tank and high powered pump and storage space for all the fire department’s rescue gear. Delivery is expected in February 2005.
Water Initiative Continues (Lamoine) - Volunteers have collected all the data from Lamoine, and some data from Hancock and Ellsworth as the study on fresh water supplies in the three communities continues. Carol Korty of Lamoine’s Conservation Commission who’s helping coordinate the study says they’ve had good cooperation in town, and have some high school students working with the data in Hancock. City Hall staff in Ellsworth will also assist. The Mitchell Center at the University of Maine is compiling the data to show on a spreadsheet and map of the aquifer that serves as the drinking water supply for many homes in the three communities. Korty says they hope to wrap up the project by summer. The project has apparently sparked interest from the Massachusetts based Island Foundation which may provide funding for similar studies in other communities. By using studies conducted in Lamoine and Ellsworth several years ago, the latest round of water data will determine whether housing development and gravel mining have an impact on the quantity and quality of groundwater. The study is not intended to curb either activity, but could be used for ordinance policy decisions in the future that can preserve usable groundwater.	Go to Fire Calls Page 2004
Fire Calls Down in ‘04 (Lamoine) — For the first time in a few years, the call volume dropped significantly for the Lamoine Volunteer Fire Department. A pair of calls on New Year’s Eve brought the call total to 39 for the year, down from last year’s volume of 48 calls. Many of the recent calls involved downed trees on power lines. The fire department is routinely called for such cases in order to keep the motoring public away from the dangerous lines. Personnel block the scene until the power company can arrive and take care of the problem. Several wind storms in November and December brought down numerous trees. The other calls in the fall involved accidents, and standing by while neighboring fire departments fought building fires.
	Lifeflight Lands at Ballfield A severe leg injury to a Mill Road resident brought the Life-Flight helicopter to the ballfield at the Lamoine School. Fire Department personnel set up the Landing Zone
Emergency Management Grant Nets Gear (Lamoine) — The Lamoine Fire Department has received about $5,000 in rescue gear from Maine’s Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). The gear includes new rescue swimming suits and related gear for the water rescue team, along with lights and navigation equipment for the rescue boat. The Hancock County Emergency Agency coordinated the MEMA grant for Lamoine, thanks to residents Linda Feury and Ralph Pinkham who run the local EMA program. Rescue boat Lieutenant Brett Jones put together the list of rescue gear the boat crew could use to enhance any rescue efforts. The money is part of MEMA’s allocation for homeland security measures. If an incident were to happen in Hancock County, it’s likely Lamoine’s rescue boat unit would be a key player in water rescue needs.
	A Rough Ride Two Partridge Cove Road residents ended their ride upside down in mid-December at the intersection of Mud Creek Road and Pinkhams Flats. Neither was seriously injured.
Painting Waits (Lamoine) — The project to paint the interior of the Lamoine Fire Station will wait for warmer weather. Part of the project involves painting the apparatus floor and will mean trucks would have to park outside for a week for the paint to dry. One bid has come in for the project, slightly above the money set aside a few years ago for the project. Meanwhile, a new electronic security lock was installed on the department’s access door. The high tech lock allows access through swipe cards and keypads instead of keys.
LVFD Supper a Success (Lamoine) — The annual clam chowder supper for the fire department netted the department about $1,400 and served a record number of diners. Chef Albert Herrick cooked up another yummy batch of chowder, and when the nearly 350 in attendance had eaten their fill, the chowder pot was nearly empty. The LVFD holds the dinner annually in October at the school as one of the major fund raisers of the year. The money will help replenish funds used to purchase the new rescue truck (see above article).

The Lamoine Quaterly - January 2005