After trying and trying, Avondale finally gets funds for new pumper

By Mark Squibb/August 26, 2022

The year was 1987. Beverly Hills Cop II was at the top of the box office, the Edmonton Oilers won their third Stanley Cup, and The Simpsons made their television debut in a number of shorts on the Tracey Ullman Show.

It was also the year the Town of Avondale received a brand-new pumper truck.

This summer, 35 years later, the town is in line to receive another brand-new pumper — an especially welcome piece of news given its lone existing pumper failed vehicle inspection in March.

The truck purchased in 1987 was taken out of service in 2012. The Department then purchased a pumper from the St. John’s Regional Fire Department. That pumper was the one that failed the March inspection.

“St. John’s had a lot of use of that truck, and it served the Town of Avondale for almost 10 years before it’s motor vehicle inspection failure,” said Avondale Fire Chief Chad Costello.

Rust corrosion on the truck’s undercarriage, a worn pump, and other issues are to blame for the truck’s failure to pass inspection.

The Town had applied for provincial government funding for a new truck year-after-year, and this June its application was approved.

“It’s a major relief,” said Costello. “Our department has been doing a lot of fundraising over the years. Our goals have been set on a new pumper. Obviously, they’re not very cheap pieces of equipment. But with a three-storey high school in the town of Avondale, and the duty of covering the TCH, it plays on your mind when you don’t have the correct firefighting equipment to take on those jobs and you’re relying on mutual aid from other towns.”

The cost of the pumper is around $420,000, which will be split 80/20 with the provincial government picking up the larger share. The fire department and the town will split their portion, a cost somewhere in the neighbourhood of $84,000.

“This is a great asset, not only for the department and the Town of Avondale, but for the CBC region,” said Costello. “Right now, we’re without a pumper truck, but we still have our water tanker and rescue unit.”

Between motor vehicle accidents and fires, Costello said, it’s been a busy year for the department, which boasts just over 30 members.

He added the department cannot thank the public enough for its support through different fundraising events. Monies donated are used alongside the department’s budget, and makes big ticket items, like the contribution toward the new truck, possible.

The department provides aid from Colliers to Holyrood, as well as the Trans Canada Highway from Salmonier Line to Roaches Line.

Though Avondale has already received confirmation of the new truck, Costello said it’s expected the truck won’t be delivered until another 18 months or so.