Francestown Fire and Rescue will soon debut a brand-new $950,000 firetruck to replace its 1989 Pierce pumper.
Voters approved the town’s $875,000 expenditure to purchase the new truck — a 2026 KME Class A pumper truck — last year, drawing from a capital reserve fund. An additional $75,000 came from the Mt. Crochet Fire Association.
Fire Chief Larry Kullgren said his team is readying the new vehicle for service, adding tools and installing equipment like hoses. He expects it to be in service by mid-October.
“We are very excited about the delivery of the truck,” Kullgren said. “The old Pierce served the town for 37 years, and it served us well, but it was a little outdated for our needs.”
The truck was delivered in time to participate in Francestown’s annual Labor Day parade, which is the town’s biggest event of the year.
“We really wanted it to get here in time for the parade, so we worked with the vendor to make that happen so we could show it off to the citizens and taxpayers of Francestown, who made this possible,” Kullgren said.
Francestown Fire and Rescue signed a contract with the Massachusetts-based vendor, Bulldog, for the new truck in June 2025. Bulldog is the regional vendor for KME, the parent company that manufactures the trucks.
“This was a process that went on for several years. We tried not to go over a million on the price, so we looked at several vendors, and we selected Bulldog, which is a vendor that we have been very happy with in the past,” Kullgren said.
Kullgren said the town also worked with Bulldog to refurbish a tanker truck in 2010.
The new pumper truck was built over the course of 13 months. Kullgren said Francestown Fire and Rescue “went with a program truck option,” meaning the department could design and select modifications to the truck while it was on the assembly line to meet Francestown’s specific needs — like adding storage compartments and shelving as well as additional lighting.
Kullgren said another new feature of the truck is enough inside seating for the whole crew.
“The old trucks had open rear seating behind the cab. It had a canopy, but basically it was open to the weather, and it only had lap belts. It no longer met the DOT standard,” Kullgren said. “The new truck has inside seating, which we are very happy about.”
