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The History
of the Pennington Fire Company |
The performance
capabilities of Pennington Fire's new apparatus were soon given a
vigorous test. Mercer Airport had a spectacular fire on March 15,
1969, when a huge wooden hangar ignited and threatened the entire
airport complex with its volatile fuel tanks and aircraft. A mutual
relay of 57,000 feet of hose manned by 10 pumpers supplied water to
contain and eventually quench the fire. Pennington's diesel ran for
hours without refueling, while gasoline-powered pumpers at the scene
had to be refueled every few hours. At the airport fire, the
diesel had once again shown itself to be the engine of the next
generation. Accordingly, Pennington Fire Company purchased another
1,000-gallon/minute-diesel pumper from American
LaFrance in 1971.
A key step in the area of response time was taken in 1973, when the
Company's communications system was upgraded with the purchase of
plectron home-alert systems. Two years later, a Mack tractor was
purchased to haul the Company's 7,000 gallon Heil tanker to areas
that had no water supply.
Also in 1975, the Company quickly responded to calls for aid in the
Trenton water crisis. While Pennington's pumpers were sent to join
the 67 trucks involved in relaying water 2 1/2 miles down Princeton
Pike to Trenton, its tanker was dispatched to Prospect Heights to
provide water in case a fire broke out there. After nearly five days
of round-the-clock service, the trucks returned to base.
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