Newlyweds accept firetruck ride after bus blaze

AVON, Conn. -- A newlywed couple had no problem saying "I do" a second time, when Connecticut firefighters asked them whether they wanted a ride to their reception after their bus was disabled by a small blaze.

Maria Leonardi and Justin Stone of New York City were treated to a 15-minute voyage in a fire engine from a church to her father's home in Avon on Saturday, complete with wailing sirens.

Neither had ridden in a fire engine before.

"It was quite a spectacle," Leonardi said. "It just made the best day better."

Firefighters with the Avon Volunteer Fire Department were sent to a trolley-bus fire outside the West Avon Congregational Church.

The bus was supposed to take the couple and their wedding party to the reception at Leonardi's father's home.

The bus driver had put out the small engine fire with an extinguisher by the time firefighters arrived.

But that didn't stop them from giving their own gift to the couple -- a lift aboard a big red firetruck.

"Those of us that are married know how much planning it takes," assistant fire chief Joe Speich said. "We wanted to make sure they still had a special day."

The couple had just exchanged their vows and were taking pictures inside the church when word started getting around about the bus being on fire outside.

They thought it was a joke at first, until they heard the responding fire engines.