Dauphin's new fire truck has arrived in the city.
The vehicle, which cost just under 850 thousand dollars to build, pulled into its new home at the Dauphin Fire Hall on Wednesday.
Fire Chief Cam Abrey goes over some of its features.
"It holds double the water of the previous fire trucks, so it is capable of holding 1,000 gallons of water on board rather than 500. We have also created a few different safety features for the firefighters. That includes lowering the hose beds a bit, in order to reduce the stretching risk or slips, trips, or falls. We also designed the cab so that it is a clean cab component. We can use it for rehabilitation for the firefighters."
The pump operator will now be able to be enclosed in the truck when battling fires, and the truck also includes a clean cab air purification system.
Abrey says there was a lot of excitement at the fire hall on Wednesday.
"It was like a bunch of kids on Christmas morning. They have been crawling all over it. We have been trying to figure out what tools will go where. So this truck will not go into service right away. It is going to be taking the equipment off some of the old trucks and putting them into service on this one, and finding the right locations so that everyone knows where all of the equipment is located. It will probably be a week or so to get it into full service."
Purchase of the truck was made possible in large part by an 800-thousand-dollar grant from the provincial government.
Abrey is confident the truck will serve both the city and the R-M for many years.
