AVFD purchases ‘new’ fire truck
Donations to the Albany Fire Department have been used to purchase a replacement for the City’s aging 1987 GMC fire engine, and in the next week or two the new rescue engine will officially be installed in a “Push In” ceremony.
“Last year, the fire department received a sizable donation and kept most of that money set aside in hopes of coming across a good used truck,” said fire chief Kyle Tischler. “Unfortunately, buying a brand new fire engine like this is simply out of the question. Funding is just not available.”
The newly purchased truck is a 2001 Spartan Metro Star custom cab Class-A engine that is reported to be in really good shape, with a little over 70,000 miles on its odometer, according to the chief.
“I came across this truck at a broker in Mesquite while I was casually looking, hoping to find something we could actually afford,” Tischler said. “After conferring with several of our members, I decided to go back with my dad, who is also a member of the department, and take a closer look. We drove over to Mesquite and after a few hours of crawling all over this truck, we decided to make the purchase.”
According to Tischler, the department members were all quite happy with the upgrade.
“This truck isn’t new, but it is in much better condition than our old Engine #1,” said Tischler. “That truck had just outlived its usefulness for our response needs. We are hoping to get the new truck into front line service within a week or so, after we get the rest of the fire hose in.”
“Engine #3” will become the department’s primary truck to use on structure fires, according to the chief, and will also enable the volunteers to respond with appropriate equipment if they should receive a second call while they are already working a vehicle accident.
“There are several options on this truck that will make our jobs a lot better,” he said. “It has a 1,500 gallon per minute Waterous® fire pump, which is one of the reasons we bought it. Having this larger pumping capacity will help the City’s Public Protection Class through the ISO and help to slow down property insurance premium increases, as well as enhance our fire fighting with the ability to flow much more water.”
The custom cab, hand built and designed with firefighter safety in mind, is an upgrade compared to the older equipment, added Tischler.
“We were needing a second rescue truck that could handle more than two firefighters, so we won’t have to have our personal vehicles on the side of the road when we are working an accident,” said Tischler. “This one can carry five firefighters, with each seat back holding their breathing apparatus, thus saving a great deal of space in the side boxes. That will allow us to use that space for other tools and equipment.”
The truck has a 500 gallon water tank, and some rescue tools were included in the deal.
“We were able to get a full set of Hurst hydraulic tools (Jaws of Life) in perfect condition with the purchase of this truck,” Tischler said.
The chief thanked those who donated.
“This doesn’t happen without you,” he said. “This truck is going to be a great asset to our department.”
