LEVERETT — A late-night crash Saturday gave the Leverett Fire Department its first chance to use a new multifunction tanker truck.
Emergency responders were called to Cave Hill Road Saturday shortly after midnight for a report of a car that had gone off the road and hit a telephone pole. The car, believed to have swerved to avoid a deer, caught fire after hitting the pole, Leverett Fire Chief John Ingram explained Monday.
The man and woman in the car were able to exit. One was taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital for evaluation while the other declined to go to the hospital, Ingram said.
The road was closed to traffic for about three hours because of the downed wires and vehicle fire. The crash also caused power outages.
The town-connected Internet provider for LeverettNet, OTT Communications, was down for about 24 hours, according to spokeswoman Tracy Scheckel.
The service was restored around midnight on Sunday but because of the late hour, customers were not called about the restoration until the morning, Scheckel said.
About 40 Eversource customers were without power for more than an hour, according to spokeswoman Priscilla Ress.
The fire department used its new multifunction Rescue 1 truck with ultra-high water pressure to fight a fire — a first for the new tanker. The new rescue truck carries 200 gallons of water and at full force can flow 16 gallons per minute — much lower than a traditional tanker which uses about 150 gallons per minute, according to Ingram.
The truck’s smaller hose, ¾ inches rather than 1¾ inches, also allows for single firefighters to maneuver the hose much easier and by themselves.
A full 200-gallon tank was used to put out the car fire before the tank was refilled to then cool down the road, Ingram said.
The fire department will host an open house Saturday for residents to view the new truck at 95 Montague Road from 9 to 11 a.m. The department’s chaplain is scheduled to bless the truck at 9:30 a.m.
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.