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Essex Fire Department gets a key replacement

By Michael Farrell
Staff writer
Published: July 12, 2008

If you've driven past the Essex Fire Department while members were washing their engines, you may have noticed something different — there's a new fire engine in town.

The $300,000 engine, manufactured by the Louisiana company Ferrara Fire Apparatus, was delivered to the town in April with money appropriated at the 2007 Essex Town Meeting. The new engine is expected to be the first engine to respond to emergencies in Essex.

The truck began service in early May after the firefighters were trained on the vehicle, and made its debut appearance at the fire on 10 Harry Homans Drive in late June.

According to Deputy Chief Dan Doucette, the engine replaced an aging one that had been in service since 1982.

"It served the town well, but it needed to be replaced to be up to current safety standards," he said.

Because of its age, the old engine was having mechanical difficulties — such as a hard time starting. It also developed leaks in its water tank.

The new engine, called Engine 2, is expected to serve the town for 20 years. It can travel up to 62 miles per hour, carry 1,000 gallons of water, pump 1,250 gallons per minute, hold 30 gallons of Class A firefighting foam and carry 1,000 feet of hydrant supply hose.

Doucette also said it has high-intensity scene lighting that produces 1,200 lumens of light. The engine can automatically deploy tire chains for icy weather at the touch of a button.

"We're lucky we got air conditioning," said Doucette, who noted that the cooling system is for cooling off overheated firefighters or victims.

One of the best things about the new truck, Doucette said, "it is very maneuverable. It turns very well."

The old truck's turning radius was much wider, he said.

Explore Essex Wildlife

Kids with an interest in wildlife should dust off their boots, grab a bottle of bug repellant and have their parents dial the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary. This summer's Essex Salt Marsh Camp begins Aug. 4 and is looking to fill up the remaining eight vacancies.

For at least 20 years, the Massachusetts Audubon Society has sponsored a day camp that operates out of a barn at the Essex County Greenbelt Association's headquarters on 82 Eastern Ave.

"It's a beautiful spot that just sort of sticks out into the Essex salt marsh," said Susan Baeslack, the education coordinator at the sanctuary.

The barn is noted as the building that hosts the Greenbelt Association's annual "Art in the Barn" show. This August, however, it will become a camp headquarters.

Adventurers ages 7 to 10 will get the opportunity to explore the Cox Reservation, learning about the marsh habitat and the numerous animals it supports, like herons, mummichogs and hermit crabs. According to Baeslack, they even set up a small aquarium to study the animals up close.

The weeklong program, which runs from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. culminates in a daylong excursion at Choate Island where children will get to explore the island and learn about the life that lives along the seashore.

It costs $253 to apply and $195 for members of Massachusetts Audubon.

To apply, parents can call the wildlife sanctuary at 978-887-9264 or visit their Web site www.massaudubon.org/ipswichriver for more information.

Manchester Music Series

Manchester's sixth annual summer concert series is now underway.

Between now and Aug. 12, five different bands, each specializing in a different genre, will play at Masconomo Park on Tuesdays between 6 and 8 p.m. — and the shows are free.

The concert series — which Matt Casparious, director of the Manchester Department of Parks and Recreation, called, "a nice event for families" — began last Tuesday with the band Twist of Fate. About 300 came to the show that evening, said Casparius, and many people approached him and asked if the town would bring the group back next year.

This Tuesday, people of authentic or adopted Irish heritage can get in touch with their roots when the series welcomes Mollies's Misfits, an Irish folk and rock band. The following week, a group of Manchester parents who call their band Mid Life Crisis will rock the park with familiar tunes to family members of all ages, while the Manchester Community Center serves free hot dogs and hamburgers.

In order of appearance, the following genres will be Latin music performed by Grupo Fantasia, country by the John Penny Band, and rock'n'roll by the Reminicents, who regularly perform at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.

According to Casparius, the town raises $4,000 each year for the event through donations from local residents and businesses.

A Musical Dr. Seuss

Manchester Summerstage will soon debut a new musical.

Starting July 22 in the auditorium at Memorial Elementary, a cast of 67 brightly dressed kids will perform "Seussical the Musical," a Broadway play that debuted in 2000.

That Tuesday through Thursday, the roughly two-hour show will start at 6 p.m., while the Friday and Saturday performances will be at 7. Tickets will cost $10 for adults and $6 for children younger than 12 years old, and can be purchased at Memorial School one hour before the show. Advanced tickets are available at the school between 5:30 and 9 p.m., and on July 19 and 20 at Crosby's Market on Beach Street.

The plot of the show combines elements from a number of Dr. Seuss' books, but most prominently from "Horton Hears a Who," the story of an elephant named Horton who tries to save the citizens of Who-ville, a town that exists on a speck of dust.

The primary characters in the play are Horton the Elephant, Gertrude McFuzz, Mayzie the Bird and others. They will be performed, respectively, by Manchester Essex High School students Danny Oliver-Munn, Piper Brown, and Maura Driscoll. The story is narrated by the Cat in the Hat, played by Allie Freed, and there will be a large chorus.

Margaret "Muffin" Driscoll, board president of Manchester Summer Stage, a nonprofit theater program, said the program was started in 1972 by James Kitendaugh, an English teacher at what was then Manchester Junior-Senior High. The program has put on a summer performance every year since its inception and has presented such notable shows as Grease and Guys and Dolls.

The program is funded in part by a $150 student fee. Additional funding is provided by private donations and by local businesses who get involved as production partners.

"The Manchester Community has always been generous," said Driscoll.

Michael Farrell can be reached at gt_reporter@gloucestertimes.com

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