Community Good Neighbors

Chicopee Fire Department lent a hand in the rescue of two Westover Electricians stuck 100 feet off the tarmac after their high lift broke down. They weren't in any immediate danger but when the Westover Fire Department, who doesn't have the equipment to reach that high, got the call they reached out to Chicopee Fire to help out.

Community Good Neighbors

Chicopee Good Neighbors

Published Dec. 20, 2018
By W.C. Pope
439th Airlift Wing

WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. -- If you were near the North Ramp, Oct. 10, you would have seen something unique. Base civil engineers found themselves stuck 100 feet above the tarmac while trying to change a bulb in the flight line lighting. Westover’s Fire Department doesn’t have a ladder truck, so when one is needed, they call on local departments to lend a hand. The City of Chicopee fire department came to the rescue with their 100-foot-plus ladder truck. “We have a Mutual Aid Agreement with Chicopee, Holyoke, Hadley and Ludlow. What equipment and man power we don’t have, they can provide and vica versa,” said Westover Fire Chief Charles VanGorden. “Recently we backfilled Chicopee Fire Station One on Church Street while they were responding to a fire,” he added. One mission of the base is to be a good neighbor to the local communities; when needed the Westover Fire Department provides assistance with equipment and fire fighters to back-fill fire stations.