Town of Seekonk Fire Department Receives Fully Restored Fire Truck from Tri-County RVTHS Students

Franklin, MA – Auto Collision Career Program students at the Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School have given a Town of Seekonk fire pickup truck a breadth of life by fully restoring it to its pristine condition. The Auto Collision students were challenged with taking the 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck, that was delivered to Tri-County the color white with many dents and scratches, and completely restoring and painting the truck to match the town’s other red fire trucks.

Under the direction of teacher Derick Estacio, students designed, painted, and refinished the truck’s surfaces using modern welding, sanding, masking, painting, and clear coating techniques. The students learned the correct process of removing the electric windows on the doors and all the window mechanisms, all the wiring on the doors, the wiring of the alarms, headlights, and grill prior to painting. “Basically, the body of the truck was completely taken apart and put back together,” said Derick Estacio, Auto Collison Instructor at Tri-County. “This allowed us to paint all of the intricate areas, such as the floorboards, the inside of the doors, the wheels, etc. Taking the vehicle apart and putting it back together helped us to match up the joints and seams where panel meets panel.” The project spanned over the course of several months, with the students having the opportunity to use their skills to participate in the restoration.

“This project was a huge success on all sides and for everyone involved,” said Christopher Campbell,
Director of Communications for the Town of Seekonk. “The Town of Seekonk got an incredibly well done and professional product and the students in the Auto Collision program had an opportunity to work on a project that showcases not only their talents and skills but one that will also be seen on the front lines of public safety and in the public view in the Town of Seekonk and the local area every day. The Town of Seekonk and the Public Safety Departments are lucky to have the opportunity to take advantage of the services that Tri-County has to offer. It is a perfect opportunity for us to be able to get top level services at a fraction of the costs. The kids put out a top-level product and we could not be happier.”

“The Tri-County School District would like to thank the town of Seekonk for, once again, providing our students with such a rich and community engaged project,” said Stephen Dockray, Superintendent-Director. “The success of the project is a reflection of the comprehensive and real-world education our students receive at Tri-County. The tremendous support we receive from municipalities, like Seekonk, are instrumental in helping us to keep our programs up to industry standards.”

The students involved in the project were sophomores, Tyler Mattson of Walpole, Brian Moore of Attleboro, Aidan Pilato of Seekonk, Tyler Metivier of Wrentham, and Dakota Stack and Lyle Smith both of North Attleboro. Juniors included Adam Frye of Millis, Jaxon Cuddeback, Colin Schwab and Abby Gray all of Attleboro, Chloe Drohan of Franklin, and Hailey Moore of Wrentham. Finally, seniors were Antonia Casoli, Alexandra Major and Jack Warner of Franklin, Jared Gutwill of Ashland, Lyrik Rossi and Samuel Picozzi of North Attleboro, and Sierra Lewicki of Plainville.

All Tri-County Auto Collision students received special Challenge Coins from Seekonk that are only given out to a select few as a recognition of a job well done.

Tri-County RVTHS, located at 147 Pond Street in Franklin, is a recipient of the High Schools That Work Gold Achievement Award and serves the communities of Franklin, Medfield, Medway, Millis, Norfolk, North Attleboro, Plainville, Seekonk, Sherborn, Walpole, and Wrentham.