The 1986 Chevrolet pickup truck was given to the Hanson Fire Department as part of the Federal Excess Property Program, and after three months, has been restored by auto body department head John D’Andrea and his sophomore students.

The truck required new paint and extensive body work. Hanson Fire Department paid $900 for the materials needed to make the repairs and the labor was donated by the school, according to Hanson Fire Chief Jerry Thompson.

The truck will be used for a general transportation vehicle and as an additional forest truck. It is currently housing the ice rescue gear, Thompson said.

The pickup was previously used on a military base in Rhode Island. When the department received the truck through FEPP, it was painted in camouflage patterns and showed rust spots.

Every panel in the interior and exterior was worked on D’Andrea said.

The FEPP distributes equipment, which tends to be former Department of Defense vehicles, to the United States Forest Service for the purpose of woodland and rural firefighting service.

D’Andrea said the students took the truck apart and, with some guidance from the senior class, were able to complete the project from start to finish.

“We wanted [the vehicle,] to stand out, so we painted it a nice shiny red color,” D’Andrea said. “[The students] did a really nice job on it.”

D’Andrea said the students worked on the frame and then they stripped down and under coated the paint. They also installed a trailer hitch and painted the wheels. The students also had to install a new brake line.

“This was a first for everything,” D’Andrea said about the project.

He said that the students felt a sense of accomplishment when the project was completed.

 “They gained experience to be able to go on to another vehicle without much guidance from me,” he said.

The project took the students three months to complete, because they have a week in shop and a week in class, D’Andrea said.

The auto body students at South Shore Regional Vocational Technical High School do a number of projects that come from the fire and police departments in the district, D’Andrea said.

Most vehicles the students work on are only 10 years old or newer, but if it is a municipality vehicle, the school tries to help as best they can, D’Andrea said. He added that the class usually isn’t at that point until the end of 10th grade or the beginning of the 11th grade.

Each year, the students have a framework they have to follow for their auto body course.

“[This project] gave them credit for most all the frameworks we go over in the 10th grade,” D’Andrea said.

Chief Thompson said that the vehicle was returned to the department at the end of December. As of last week, he was able to stripe the vehicle with scotch light tape and he is waiting on a Hanson Fire patch he ordered to be put on the truck.

Thompson said that receiving the vehicle through the FEPP and having the students donate time to restore it is great during these economic times when he doesn’t have much in his budget.

The truck, with only 41,000 miles, will be of great use for the town, he said.

The next vehicle Thompson hopes to acquire through the FEPP is a trailer.

Thompson said the Fire Department has had other vehicles restored by SSVT students in the past.

 He said he was very happy with the work SSVT did.