Fire chief Allen Zoeteman gave Fort Macleod council a look at the department’s new truck on Friday. From left: councillors Aaron Poytress, Gord Wolstenholme, Jim Monteith, Mackenzie Hengerer, Christina Fox and Marco Van Huigenbos, and Mayor Brent Feyter.
Fort Macleod Fire Department recently took delivery of a new truck that expands firefighters’ capabilities.
The new Engine 1 truck carries twice as much water as the one it replaces, has four-wheel drive and an external ladder.
In addition, the new truck has a “pump and roll” feature valued by firefighters in fighting grass fires.
“It has design features that we implemented to make it more usable for us,” Fire Chief Allen Zoeteman said.
Zoeteman brought the new truck to the G.R. Davis Administration Building on Friday so council members could check it out.
The Town of Fort Macleod paid for the new truck, which had a price tag of more than half a million dollars.
It was a two-year process from the initial meetings to the delivery of the new truck just before Christmas.
Zoeteman made two trips to the Fort Garry Fire Trucks Ltd. plant in Winnipeg during the design and construction phase.
The truck has a commercial Freightliner chassis and a body built at the Fort Gary plant to meet the specifications desired by the Fort Macleod Fire Department.
The new truck replaces the 1997 Ford model that has exceeded its expected 25-year life span.
Where the old truck was a single cab that could hold two firefighters, the new one has an extended cab with room for five people.
“This one holds more water and has a bigger pump,” Zoeteman said.
The new truck has a capacity for 800 gallons of water, compared to the 400-gallon tank of the old truck.
That will allow the fire department to distribute water from the new truck to other ones on scene.
The four-wheel drive feature makes the new truck better suited for going off-road to fight grass fires.
“Now we can get around a little better,” Zoeteman said. “It’s got more clearance for going off-road a little bit.”
The firefighter operating the pump will be able to stand on top of the vehicle for a 360-degree view of the scene.
“This one is more capable, for sure,” Zoeteman said.
Council will determine how the old truck will be dispersed. Options include a private sale or donation to the Rotary Club’s Los Amigos project in which fire trucks and ambulances are donated to communities in Mexico.
