It was a special day at the Early Volunteer Fire Department as members gathered to see the new Rosenbauer tanker truck arrive at the station on Wednesday morning.
Brian Peters with Daco Fire Equipment of Fort Worth drove the new tanker to Early, arriving at approximately 10:30 a.m. Several of the EVFD members were present to see the new tanker.
EVFD Chief Chad Hill stated that the department has been working to get this tanker for a long time. Hill wrote the grant which was awarded by FEMA in January of 2012. According to Hill, the funds for the truck came mostly from the FEMA grant of $295,000.
The remaining amount was gathered through fundraising efforts of volunteers which totaled $6250, City of Early funding of $13,000, and a very generous donation of $14,000 by an individual who wished to remain anonymous.
One stipulation of the grant makes the truck a great asset for the area, not just the City of Early. Because the grant is federal money, a mutual aid agreement is included in the grant. The truck will be used not only in the city of Early, but also in other areas throughout Brown and the surrounding counties, if another agency requests assistance with a fire, according to Hill.
The new truck is a 3,000 gallon Rosenbauer tanker with a Peterbuilt cab. The addition of the new truck gives EVFD 3 tankers, 3 brush trucks and 2 engines. An ’84 model tanker that has been the primary unit sent to fires before the addition of the new truck held only 2000 gallons, and its pump wasn’t nearly as fast as the new truck’s pump according to EVFD member Seth Ringler. The old tanker, when it was new, pumped about 500 gallons/minute and with age has dropped to 250 gallons/minute or less. Tankers are used mostly to hook up to the engines and other vehicles when a water source is not available.
“The old tanker would be hooked up to the engine, but it couldn’t keep up with the engine,” said Ringler. “It’s a big deal getting this new tanker. In large grassfires out in the county, multiple agencies respond because you need the water mainly. This is a huge asset in the amount of water it can bring to a fire.”
Ringler stated that the new tanker will pump 750 gallons/minute as well, increasing not only the amount of water that can be brought to a fire, but also a faster rate of flow from the truck to the fire.
“It’s been a long road waiting on this one. It’s a big deal,” said Hill. “FEMA and other fire grants are slowly diminishing and to get a grant of this magnitude, any kind over $250,000, is a blessing.”
Hill explained that with federal budget cuts, fire equipment grants were one of the first things to be cut. He said that EVFD has been very fortunate in the past two years, having been able to add trucks and equipment with such grants.
“We’ve gotten rescue tools, bunker gear, wildland gear, all from grants,” said Hill. “We’ve come a long way in that two years, thanks to grant money.”
In total, Early Volunteer Fire Department has received two FEMA grants, the maximum allowed per agency, totaling nearly $600,000. Early Volunteer Fire Department is made up of 30 members, most of which are business men or have other day jobs, according to Hill.
Pictured above are Brian Peters of Daco Fire Equipment with EVFD members Chief Chad Hill, Gerald Johnson, Seth Ringler, Josh Crowder, Clyde Baker, Delton Cooley and Travis Eoff. Below are more photos of the members learning about the new truck and its equipment.
