A big event for the greater Emmitsburg community as well as the men and women of the Vigilant Hose Company was the arrival on Wednesday, May 22nd of the much-anticipated new heavy rescue vehicle, "Squad 6."

Such is always a big deal in a small community and certainly that’s true hereabouts, too, as the Vigilant Hose Company enjoys tremendous community-wide support. New Squad 6 replaces the 24-year old unit that was just donated 2 weeks ago to a needy rural fire department in Pine Mountain, Arkansas, located in the Ozarks about 45 miles south of Branson, Missouri. To say that Pine Mountain firefighters were pleased with their new acquisition would be an understatement! They returned to a large reception of their local citizens who were very proud, too.

In addition to a wide range of specialty tools and equipment, the new vehicle is unique in that it arrived with all of those tools/equipment pre-mounted. This is the first time that Pierce Manufacturing has ever undertaken to do so. For them, this service was a trial run to see if this is something they want to offer as a service to purchasers of their product line (and apparently they were very pleased with how all turned out).

Total unit cost, after new radios are installed, will be on the order of $470,000. A formal dedication ceremony is set for Sunday, June 30, after the unit has been displayed at several local fire equipment shows and all personnel have been thoroughly trained on all new equipment to include drivers gaining experience in safe handling of the new unit.