Second truck for Pine Haven fire department

The Pine Haven Volunteer Fire department has been on the lookout for an affordable “pumper” or fire truck that can run a reserve for their big red Engine 1. Currently, the department owns one pumper; the grass land fire trucks are not recognized as pump trucks capable of fighting a structure fire.

They have been setting funds aside over the years to make this endeavor possible if they find something suitable. Fire chief Bob Rudichar recently came across a possibility in California and deputy chief Dave Hull has been the liaison to the sellers.

The 1995 International four-wheel drive truck is very similar to the town’s Engine 1, said Hull, except that it employs a 500-gallon holding tank as opposed to the 1000 gallons that Engine 1 can hold “But because the town has a satisfactory set of fire hydrants, that is not a limiting factor for us,” he said.

The original asking price was $25,000, but Hull negotiated and the sellers accepted an offer of $20,000. He assured the governing body at Tuesday’s meeting that there is no binding contract at this time and he plans to make the trip to physically inspect the truck soon.

Hull explained, “They can’t use this truck in California because it doesn’t have the clean air certification that is required by California’s EPA, so they’re selling it at bargain basement prices.”

The department holds over $47,000 specifically for this acquisition and even with the anticipated additional $15,000 worth of equipment that will have to be installed, they are well within their budget for the second truck. Hull suggested that having this extra fire truck could possibly even lower the town’s ISO rating, “So that everyone in town could be paying lower insurance premiums.”