Eganville — Along with a sea of red shirts and shorts and flags seen throughout Melissa Bishop Park on Canada Day, a bright new red fire truck was also present as residents of and visitors to North Algona Wilberforce Township saw firsthand the newest addition to the township’s volunteer fire department.
The new rescue van, with a price tag of $185,000 was ordered by the township two years ago anticipating the mothballing of an older unit, and judging by the smiles and laughter of several members of the Rankin Fire Station who were on hand at Melissa Bishop Park, it was well worth the wait.
Deputy-Chief Kevin Champ of the Rankin Station said the replacement vehicle was a good deal given the anticipated longevity of the unit.
“Although we ordered it two years ago, the timing of its arrival is alright,” Deputy-Chief Champ said. “Nobody in Canada produces this type of vehicle so it was built in North Dakota, but we purchased it from a dealership in Woodstock in Southern Ontario. The great thing about this unit is it should last about 30 years and that is well worth the investment.”
The rescue van, which is a 6.87 diesel engine Ford product, sits two personnel in the front cab and is parked at the Rankin Fire Station on Marsh Road. It has not been dispatched to any calls yet, but Captain Stephen Doering said when the time comes, the unit is well equipped for a variety of uses.
“This is a multi-use vehicle which carries extra equipment that does not fit on a pumper truck and there are extra essential items like a generator for scene lighting,” he said. “There is a forestry hose and a lot of forestry gear along with some light extrication equipment in case we respond to vehicle accidents. There is also smaller extra equipment like rakes and shovels and small chain saws that cannot be transported on your regular large fire trucks.”
He said all volunteers are able to drive the new truck and don’t need a special licence as is the case for the larger pumper trucks. The new vehicle replaces a 1984 Ford truck that more than served the department well for several years.
“That truck was getting very tired so we are happy to have this new truck in the fleet.”
Mayor James Brose was just as thrilled with the showcasing of the van as the firefighters.
“This is our firefighting van which we received about two weeks ago and judging by the reaction here today, it is being well received,” he said. “It is a great addition to our fleet and it should make for better job performance and ease of operation for our firefighters. We certainly look forward to getting it into service and I certainly want to thank council, both past and present, for making this possible, and especially the community for helping to raise money for the lights on the vehicle.”
Muriel Verch, a member of the Rankin Fire Station volunteer committee that fundraises for various additional items, said the contribution of the scene lights was something they felt was important.
“The cost of the lights was about $8,000, but it will really help in case they are called out at night,” she said. “We have a small committee of about five members, including firefighter Josh Verch, so we are pretty active and we are also very happy to see the truck here today. “
