The culmination of a four year journey to introduce a new truck to the Third District Volunteer Fire Company in Bristol Township ended Saturday with the celebration of the new apparatus.
The truck was dedicated to Howard M. McGoldrick, who has been actively involved in the affairs of the company since the day he joined in the 1960s. Throughout his time with the fire company, McGoldrick worked his way up through the ranks of the company, eventually becoming the engineering chief of the station, responsible for much of the care of the trucks.
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McGoldrick stayed involved even after retirement by cutting the grass of the station and attending meetings for the company.
“He is a fine example of what a volunteer firefighter should be, and is,” one speaker said of him during the dedication.
The new truck was originally the vision of David Burns, who proposed the idea four years ago with a plan to save enough money to accomplish the purchase of the new apparatus; “It is nice to have everyone work together towards the same goal,” Burns said.
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“It is a very great feeling, comparable to the birth of a child,” Burns said, of accomplishing a goal that has been building for four years.
“This is big,” Third District Fire Company Chief Ray Finnell said of the project to get the new truck.
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“These things are basically custom built,” Finnell said, implying that the shopping process is very different from the standard process of purchasing a car from a new and used car lot.
According to the chief, the ladder on the new truck is 75 feet, and is designed using hydraulics, meaning it is not intended to be climbed on regularly.
The truck was manufactured by Sea Grave manufacturing, which had the company deal thorough three separate sales contractors throughout the process.
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According to Finnell, most of the truck was hand manufactured.
