VIDEO/PHOTOS: The Block Island Ferry had a special visitor onboard Friday.
Ladder 1 is Block Island’s newest fire engine, and is equipped with a 100-foot aerial ladder.
The engine traveled to Block Island on the ferry from Point Judith.
Many people on board found it a pleasant surprise.
“It’s not something that you see every day,” said one ferry traveler. “All of the kids were just so happy to see the engine, great for the island.”
The engine comes to the island nearly one year after a severe fire burned down the Harborside Inn.
“I would have liked to have had it a year ago but we got through that,” said Chris Hobe, the Block Island Fire Chief. “It’s been a long time coming, about two and a half years from start to finish.”