A new fire truck, on order for some time, will soon be a most welcome addition to Rimbey Fire Department’s firefighting equipment.
The $275,000 truck, funded equally by the town and Ponoka County, is to arrive in June.
The truck, which was ordered from Rocky Mountain Phoenix in Red Deer, is to replace the 1986 truck now being used by the department, said Fire Chief John Weisgerber.
“We are very much looking forward to having a new unit,” he said. “We started the process to order the truck in March of last year.”
Weisgerber said the future of the 1986 pumper truck has yet to be decided. “We will have to see if it’s worth anything,”
The fire department, which has about 20 members, has experienced a fairly quiet spring with fewer calls for grass fires reported, he noted.
“The spring grass fire season was light compared to most years,” he said.
The department responded to a call May 27 about 18 kilometres southwest of Rimbey.
“It was an old chicken coop,” said Weisgerber. “It was pretty well burned down when we got there, but we were able to keep it from spreading to the grass and surrounding corrals and the bush.”
By Treena Mielke