The big news at Monday's Battleford town council meeting was the arrival of the new fire truck.
Fire Chief Larry Gabruch and several members of the department brought it around to Town Hall for councillors and administrators to inspect.
Just as the sun went down, a group gathered outside Town Hall to admire the new engine. Councillor Gordon Yarde and Town Administrator Sheryl Ballendine took turns climbing up to the driver's seat. Ballendine, having just officially announced her impending retirement, was encouraged to sound the siren.
The new engine will replace the Battleford Fire Department's main responding engine, which is now 25 years old.
Battleford town council approved the purchase of the new truck worth just under a half million dollars in December of 2014, using reserves that had been built up for just that purpose.
The lowest quote was from Fort Garry Fire Trucks of Winnipeg, Man. at $491,182. About $203,000 of that, which paid for the chassis to be manufactured in the United States, was paid out almost immediately as council was concerned about the continuing drop in Canada's value against the U.S. dollar.
Monday, Mayor Derek Mahon said they saved many thousands of dollars by acting quickly as the dollar has dropped even further since.
Firefighters were at the fire hall Friday night and Saturday training on the new vehicle.
The new unit has two types of systems to deliver foam to a class A fire, which is one involving combustible materials such as wood, cloth and paper, trash and plastics.
It has an injection system like the one already on two of the department's engines, plus an additional system, known as a CAF system (compressed air foam).
Town councillor Ames Leslie, who is also a member of the fire department, told fellow councillors the new compressed air foam system will use half the amount of water and foam.
The new engine is similar to the engine recently acquired by North Battleford, but one size smaller, said Deputy Fire Chief Geoff Thompson.
At the time of the order, Gabruch said the shorter version was important considering the number of cul-de-sacs already in the community, with more to come.
