Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 8601 |
| Work Detail | Nocona Rural Volunteer Fire Department was recently awarded a $200,000 grant to help purchase a large brush truck through the Texas A&M Forest Service Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program. The new truck is a 2016 Ford F750 four-wheel-drive with an 850-gallon water tank, remotely operated bumper turret, and a variety of hoses that offer various options for fire suppression. This truck replaces a 20-year-old vehicle with a 200-gallon water tank. “We are a rural department, so the 850-gallon water tank is important when there are no fire hydrants around,” said Nocona Rural VFD Assistant Fire Chief Rusty Henley. “It is an asset to have a larger tank that carries more water and allows us to attack the fire longer, with our old truck we had to return to our water source to refill the small tank, it can mean the difference between a 30-minute fire or a 3-hour fire,” explained Henley. The remote operated turret mounted on the front bumper is operated from inside the truck cab and can rotate 185 degrees horizontally and 20 degrees vertically. This allows for a quick knockdown of the fire using minimal water, assists with maintaining firefighter safety and also allows the department to fight fires with minimal personnel. As most volunteer firefighters have primary jobs away from the fire department, it can be hard to gauge how many will be available when a fire strikes. “We never know if we will have one volunteer or 15 volunteers show up when the call goes out,” said Henley. Nocona Rural VFD, established in 1971, has 40 volunteers that serve approximately 7,500 people over 256 square miles of predominately agricultural land in Montague County. “Our most common fires are wildland fires. This new truck was sent out on its first call 15-minutes after we put it into service, and it has made at least five wildland fire calls since then,” stated Henley. Texas A&M Forest Service is committed to protecting lives and property through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program, a cost-share program funded by the Texas State Legislature and administered by Texas A&M Forest Service. This program provides funding to rural VFDs for the acquisition of firefighting vehicles, fire and rescue equipment, protective clothing, dry-hydrants, computer systems and firefighter training. For more information on programs offered by Texas A&M Forest Service, please visit http://texasfd.com. |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Entry Date | 15 Oct 2016 |
| Source | http://www.texomashomepage.com/news/local-news/nocona-rural-vfd-receives-200000-grant |
