There's a new compact fire fighting vehicle in the ranks of North Battleford Fire Department.
It is a 6x6 Polaris fire response vehicle. According to Fire Chief Albert Headrick, the plan is to use the vehicle to fight grass fires and to perform off-road rescue. It can also be used for back alley dumpster fires that might not require a larger fire truck.
Headrick was out testing the vehicle Thursday afternoon at the fire hall and the News-Optimist was able to join along on the ride. The vehicle is small and compact and therefore able to provide first response effectively.
The cab is enclosed, which provides good protection to firefighters inside. The back of it features a mounted hose, and there is a storage area for equipment and grassfire fighting apparel.
According to Headrick, the vehicle holds up to 75 gallons of water. It also holds five gallons of scotty foam which he said increases the volume by about 600 times for fighting fires.
"It works pretty good because it's a compressed foam system," Headrick said.
He said having the unit will result in better use of the department's equipment and resources.
"You'll get better resources - better physical resources and equipment resources," said Headrick, and that means they'll be able to "respond to the incidents a lot quicker."
The fire department had proposed purchasing the 6x6 in January of last year, as well as a new Wildland skid unit (300 gallon and 75 scotty foam system). The idea was to replace the 1998 bush truck they have in use.
That truck is a Ford F350 chassis with a skid unit insert in the bed, holding 200 gallons of water with a small pump. The plan is for the skid unit to remain but be used as a backup, while the pickup is to be kept as a utility truck to transport training aids, personnel and to clean up after major incidents.
Headrick says his department purchased the new 6x6 for a cost of $32,000, which he said was reasonable compared to what the price would be if it were bought in Canada. There wasn't a unit available in Canada, so the department had to go to the United States.
The unit was bought from Global Emergency Vehicles, Inc. Headrick went down and viewed the vehicle, and picked it up when it was shipped to the border at Estevan last year before Christmas.
Grassfires are a major issue around the Battlefords, with "fire season" usually starting in the springtime once the warmer weather arrives.
There have been significant grassfires along Highway 16 in the south end of the city, as well as to the west of Territorial Drive, which saw a major grassfire that threatened the Killdeer neighbourhood a few years ago.
The plan is to use the unit within the city but also within the RM of North Battleford through a fire protection agreement with the municipality. Headrick expects the new unit will also be an asset as the department partners with other fire departments to fight grassfires.
"This will actually complement not only our grass line fire equipment but it also assists the Town of Battleford because they have one the same as us," said Headrick.
"So what we are going to doing is strategizing how we respond to grassfires this year -we're going to work in a joint effort."
In addition to the new 6x6 unit, more equipment is expected to arrive to the fire department in the near future. The News-Optimist plans to follow up with a story on that when it arrives.
