The Penhold Fire Department may soon have a new weapon in its arsenal. Recently, Fire Chief Jim Pendergast travelled down east to investigate a pair of pumper trucks, a 1999 Pierce Quantum and a 1998 Spartan for potential addition to the town's fleet.
Ultimately the Spartan, certified by Underwriters Laboratories Canada (ULC) was chosen to replace the town's current unit, a 1982 model which has served the community well, but is now due to retire. "The '82 truck was a good purchase when we acquired it at the time," said Pendergast. "But after several years there are a few concerns with it now."
The concerns with the old pumper truck included maintenance issues and a leaky water tank -- the latter posing not only a danger in terms of adequate water supply when necessary, but also with freeze-up in the winter. "We don't want to get on the road and be leaking water, causing a dangerous situation for drivers behind us, or have the tank leaking at a site, causing icy spots and a dangerous situation for our people," said Pendergast.
In the last few years, Penhold has been working at upgrading its aging equipment. In 2011, the department replaced its 1984 truck with a 1989 unit, and now this new unit will replace the 1982 model. "This particular truck from Ottawa is built to more modern standards," said Pendergast. "Currently we don't have back doors. It's cold and not very safe. This new truck has a four-door cab with seating for five."
The truck comes equipped with roll-up compartment doors, and a cover for the hose bed, which helps keeps the hose in place when the truck is travelling.
In addition, the new unit will be installed with a foam system, capable of using Class A foam, which helps the water penetrate wood faster and is good for all ordinary combustibles, as well as Class B foam which is used to fight flammable liquids like diesel and gasoline. Currently, firefighters have to bring along separate pails with these substances and then pump them from the pail. "This will save our firefighters precious time," said Pendergast, "and the company we are purchasing the truck from, Eastway Emergency Vehicles, is installing this feature as part of the purchase agreement."
Also included in the agreement, the unit will be fully refurbished to suit the fire department's needs and then shipped to Penhold. "We will have to go and inspect it one last time prior to shipping, but after that it will be sent to us at no additional cost."
When the new unit arrives, it should only require some decals and radio equipment before it is road ready. “All the new features will help make the job safer,” said Pendergast. “Over 100 firefighters die every year in North America. We would like to see those numbers come down." Penhold's new truck will be a definite step towards the effort to make that happen.
