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PITTSTON &#8211; In April, Pittston City Fire Department unveiled the latest in their stable of fire engines, a $540,000 multipurpose vehicle, which was purchased at no cost to taxpayers.
				Pittston City councilman, firefighter and paramedic, Michael Lombardo, a 25-year member of the fire department gave a tour of the state-of-the-art fire engine.
				&ldquo;We started this process in the fall of 2018,&rdquo; Lombardo said, when the fire company began securing a new firetruck. &ldquo;When we started the project the idea was we wanted to match it as closely to our other engine.&rdquo;
				The 2020 vehicle is a sister to the department&rsquo;s 2012 fire truck.
				The fire engine was manufactured in Pennsylvania by KME, a company just 60 minutes from Pittston.
				&ldquo;There are a number of reasons why we wanted to match it to our other engine,&rdquo; Lombardo said. &ldquo;Familiarity for obvious reasons is first on the list. If you wake up in the middle of the night to fight a fire and you&rsquo;re still wiping the sleep out of your eyes, you&rsquo;ll still know where all the major components are on the vehicle.&rdquo;
				Lombardo said the process in ordering a new fire engine is similar to building a house where city fire department officials meet with a design engineer from KME laying out what was needed and necessary on the vehicle.
				&ldquo;For us, the process was easy,&rdquo; admitted Lombardo. &ldquo;We wanted an attack engine, it&rsquo;s our primary engine, but it&rsquo;s also intended for rescue. It&rsquo;s set up to rescue but it&rsquo;s also set up to attack and fight a fire. It&rsquo;s really a custom-designed fire engine for Pittston.&rdquo;
				The new fire engine was purchased at no cost to taxpayers, Lombardo stressed.
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;re in a unique scenario here in Pittston,&rdquo; Lombardo said. &ldquo;We have the Pittston Volunteer Firemen&rsquo;s Relief Association (PVFRA), a group that was established many years ago where excepts funds that the state gives out every year based on a tax on fire insurance policies that were written by companies in other states. Through wise investments and being frugal, members of PVFRA were able to build that fund up to a significant amount. We&rsquo;re fortunate to have the PVRFA.&rdquo;
				The PRVFA purchased the truck and the City of Pittston then leases out the new fire engine for $1 per year and assumes all responsibilities with the vehicle which includes titling the truck, insurance and maintenance.
				&ldquo;This was purchased with zero cost to the taxpayers of the City of Pittston,&rdquo; Lombardo said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s incredible to be able to have state-of-the-art equipment, and we are very fortunate to be able to do this for the city.&rdquo;
				The 2020 truck replaces a 2008 fire engine, also owned by the PVRFA; that was retired and sold for $175,000. The money from the sale goes back into the PVRFA fund.

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Pittston firefighters get a new ride