ESTEVAN — The Estevan Fire Rescue Service has added a new fire truck to its fleet of vehicles.
A replacement rescue truck, which has been in the works for a couple of years, arrived in the middle of July and went into service about three weeks later.
“We took our time and outfitted it with tools and that kind of stuff,” said Fire Chief Rick Davies.
It replaces a unit that came into service in 1998.
Davies said it took a while to get the unit designed, built and delivered to the requirements of the fire department and the city.
“There was a lot of thought, a lot of new ideas, per se, in designs. It’s a truck design that we’re not usually familiar with.”
As a rescue truck, it has to be versatile and carry a lot of extra equipment, he said, and it is designed for a lot of extra storage. It still has a pump and a tank on it to have firefighting capabilities.
The fire department had outgrown its old rescue truck, he said. Technology and equipment change, especially over the expected two-decade life span of a truck. There were many different upgrades mechanically and for the pump, but the biggest thing was in design to carry the firefighters and equipment.
“It’s a little bigger, if you’re comparing it to the engine; size-wise, it makes it a little bit more cumbersome for going down the highway or going around town,” said Davies.
Still, it drives and rides nicely, Davies said. It was used during a structure fire on Albert Street last month for one of the first times.
“An additional thing we did order on it was a light tower, so there’s a remote tower that comes up from the top, and it’s got lights on it. We utilized that over there and it worked great … because then you’re not trying to set up spotlights or flashlights. You basically are lighting up your whole scene.”
An existing pumper fire truck will remain the primary unit, and the ladder truck will be next. But the new rescue unit can respond to a variety of situations.
Davies noted the fire department ordered the truck just before supply chain issues really started affecting deliveries of new trucks.
“It’s quite a procedure to go through that design thing at first,” said Davies. “You’re picking up options right from bumper to bumper, back to front. It’s pretty crazy how many different options you have.”
Once design is finished, they have pre-build meetings to make sure everything’s understood completely, and then it goes into production, which is 12-18 months.
“Today, with the issues … the stories that I’ve heard, is it’s upwards of three years before you actually see a new truck.”
The department also has a new wildland truck to replace an 18-year-old unit.
“Our old wildland truck was just a regular cab, it was standard transmission. The new one is a true cab, automatic transmission, a little bit bigger tank, more hoses, a better design for today.”
It’s specifically built for wildland and grass fires, but if they need to get in certain areas of the city, it can be utilized accordingly.
The truck was pressed into action for a grass fire on Oct. 5 and it was the second time it has been needed since arriving in the middle of August. Thanks to the abundance of precipitation earlier in the year, the fire department didn’t have as many calls for grass fires as they did in 2021.
Finally, the fire department has a new command vehicle for the chief or deputy chief that they have with them when on call. It was ordered last year as part of the fleet renewal, but was delayed due to supply chain issues.
The previous unit will be staying within the city to be utilized by a different division, Davies said.