New fire truck to help rural partners

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This article was published 10/11/2018 (2584 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon Fire & Emergency Services Fire Station No. 2 is home to a new water tanker set to help keep the municipalities of Cornwallis and Elton safe.

Friday’s unveiling of the new tanker the only one of its kind in the city served as a showcase for those who had not yet seen the truck.

Terry Parlow, Brandon Deputy Fire Chief, has been working with the municipalities to ensure that the department has the equipment needed to attend sites in rural areas, while also ensuring these needs are met on budget.

“It enables us to get to calls sooner and allows us to stay on calls longer,” Parlow said.

The 2011 Kenworth truck is owned by the municipalities of Cornwallis and Elton, with the City of Brandon Fire & Emergency Services supplying the manpower to operate the vehicle.

Arriving on site about a month ago, the fire department first got to work training with the vehicle.

The truck has been in service at the station for about two weeks.

When a fire breaks out the water tanker can arrive on scene and draft water to a pumper truck. When the tanker runs dry it can run to a municipal well to fill up.

“We can put out the fire in a more manageable way,” Parlow said.

RM of Elton Coun. Ches Bollman was relieved to see the truck parked and ready for action in the fire station bay.

“It looks really good,” Bollman said

Bollman was one of three committee members given the task of searching out a new water tanker for use in the two municipalities.

The group spent about a year and half searching for a truck that met the fire departments needs.

At a cost of about $125,000, between the purchase of an appropriate front end and the addition of brand new equipment and the tank on the back, Bollman said, the tanker is ready for action.

Tracking down a truck that was suitable for the needs proved a daunting task, taking the greater part of a year. Bollman and his cohorts had originally hoped it would take three to four months.

The new truck was found last spring and met the needs of the department and the budget of the municipalities.

The old water tanker, a 1995 truck, served the areas well for about 20 years, but it was under powered to respond to certain calls and also had a smaller tank, Bollman said.

“They were finding that there wasn’t enough capacity on the truck when they attended to certain towns to put out of the fires,” Bollman said. “To put out the fire they would have to run and reload somewhere.”

He hopes that with new tanker holding nearly 2,700 gallons, almost double the water capacity of the old one, the fire department will be better able to fight fires.

Bollman hopes to see the truck last for about 10 to 20 years, like the old one, while providing safe conditions for everyone.

The old truck is in the possession of Elton, and will eventually be put to tender or sold off Bollman said.

“If we do have a fire to put out it will do the job,” Bollman said.

»ckemp@brandonsun.com

»Twitter: @The_ChelseaKemp