On Dec. 19, representatives of Canadian Natural Resources (CNRL) were on site to hand over a $2,100 donation. The EFRS latest addition to the grass firefighting system has arrived just recently, and the money will help to cover the expenses associated with the truck.
The new red truck is equipped with the fire suppression system and a 250-gallon tank. This vehicle can fly through a wildland terrain and quickly approach a hard-to-reach fire.
“We can get into a lot of tighter places and stuff like that. So when this is in service come springtime, it will pull the trailer with this (universal-terrain vehicle), so this will be like a combo. And it will go out with four guys. So when we get there, the two guys that are in the front of the truck, they will stay with this truck: the two guys in the back of the truck will hop in this unit,” explained Kyle Luc, who is the president of the Estevan Firefighters Association.
Unlike the water tanker, the new truck is light enough not to sink. It also has a speed advantage over the universal-terrain fire suppression vehicle, purchased last year, which also holds less water, but can drive on virtually any surface.
And while the truck arrived in November, there is still some work that has to be done to have it ready for the next spring and summer.
Soon it will go in to have all the needed lights and decals put on it, and then finally the fire station will get it all tooled up.
“Come the new year, when it’s grass fire season, we are ready to rock’n’roll,” said Luc.
The new truck, which can pump out 250 gallons in no time, can be refilled with the help of the tanker, but also has a capacity to pump water out of a slew or a lake if needed.
The EFRS is now much better equipped to respond to wildland fires, but Luc noted that there is always room for development and improvement.
“We’ll be in a good shape, but you can always be one step better, “ said Luc. “But we are lucky, we are fortunate that we’ve had the help of the community and everyone’s put their best foot forward. So with that now we are in pretty good shape.”
Luc also noted that with all the donations from the community, companies, the city of Estevan and support from the Estevan Firefighters Association, the Estevan fire department is in a good shape financially.
The EFRS is now up to date on most of their equipment and will be able to get rid of some of the older machines.
Even though the new equipment is similar to other apparatuses Estevan firefighters have been using, all members will go through the systems to ensure that they are familiar with everything and feel comfortable with the equipment, which might slightly differ from other units.
“These wildland skids are pretty straight forward. If you can operate the trucks that we have now, you can pretty much operate this. Having said that, we will still take every person through individually,” said Luc.
The similar training was provided when the EFRS purchased the universal-terrain vehicle.
