Millvale Volunteer Fire Department shows off new rescue engine

Another new fire truck is on the streets of Millvale.

The Millvale Volunteer Fire Department in April acquired a 2025 Spartan rescue engine from Fouts Bros. in Georgia. It was parked outside the borough building for residents to view after the July 8 council meeting.

The truck replaces a 20-year-old American LaFrance rescue engine, which deputy Chief Colin Machajewksi said had become difficult to maintain since the company ceased operations in 2014.

The department is working to sell the American LaFrance, which Machajewski said is now in storage. A buyer had been lined up but backed out, he said.

While the time between order and arrival for fire trucks can take years, Millvale got its new engine in seven to eight months because it went with a truck that had fewer options for customizations, fire Chief James Tunstall said.

“They (Fouts) build these trucks right off the line. There’s not a ton of options that you have with this. You have a limited amount of options you can choose,” he said. “They have a slew of these trucks ready to go.”

It also cost less — a little over $600,000, instead of closer to $900,000, Tunstall said.

Nearly half the cost was paid from donations and proceeds from fundraisers the department had accumulated over several years, Tunstall said. The rest was financed for 20 years with a 2% loan from the state.

The Spartan carries a large amount of vehicle rescue equipment, such as hydraulic spreaders, cutters and stabilization equipment, to respond to car crashes on Route 28, Tunstall said.

The fire department bought its other vehicle, a 2016 Rosenbauer ladder truck, in 2020. A demo truck that had not been used to fight fires, it cost $625,000.

While the engines from Fouts are usually are all red, Tunstall said they were able to have it painted white on top to match the ladder truck.

The Rosenbauer replaced a 1962 American LaFrance ladder truck that had been refurbished in 1987.