It's No Longer 1999 For The SFD's Service Vehicle

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Chances are most of us are not using a vehicle that was built prior to the turn of the century.

But the Southington Fire Department's Service 1 vehicle was actually built when everyone was partying like it was 1999. Until now.

Recently, the SFD swapped out a 1999 Dodge pickup vehicle with a new, 2022 Ford F350 model that will assume the duties of the Dodge.

And, according to fire officials, there's a lot for the Dodge ... er ... Ford to do.

"This vehicle has many tasks, including: incident demobilization, off-road transportation, tow vehicle for the boat, and equipment pickup/delivery," wrote the fire department. "It’s also equipped with a snow plow to aid in emergency responses during winter storms."

Southington Fire Department Chief Eric Heath said the new vehicle is part of the regular department vehicle replacement program and the funding to buy it came from the town's capital budget.

Heath said the vehicle gets a lot of use within the department.

"It is a service, utility and incident support vehicle," Heath said in an email to Patch. "It will be used to move people and/or equipment to and from incident scenes (as part of demobilizing an incident such as dirty or contaminated hose etc.)"

He said the vehicle comes in especially handy during the day when, say, firefighters are not out saving lives or property, but preparing to do so.

For example, Heath said the vehicle can be used to shuttle equipment between fire stations.

"It can also be used for securing or blocking local roads (roadways closed due to powerlines etc) or other needs during weather related events when appropriate instead of utilizing fire suppression apparatus," he said.

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For more information on the Southington Fire Department, click on this link.