As the city and surrounding municipality continues to grow, so does the need for more updated fire fighting equipment.
With that in mind, Dauphin Fire Chief Cam Abrey says they have started the process of purchasing a new pumper truck for the department.
"What we are buying is referred to as a top mount enclosed pumper, so it has enclosed seating for all of the firefighters, and will carry 1,000 gallons of water as well as a sufficient pump on it."
Abrey says it will be approximately 2 years before the truck arrives in the city.
"This is not something that you can just go to a dealership and pick out a truck on the lot. These manufacturers design a truck around your needs. So they consider the size of our municipality, the types of fires that we go to, the types of motor vehicle incidents that we go to, they also look at the water storage on the truck, the size of the pump, how many personnel can the truck carry and what other equipment it may need."
Fort Garry Fire Trucks will custom make the truck at a cost of just over $830,000, including GST.
That was the lowest of three tenders received, and Abrey says the price to have one of these pumper trucks built has gone up significantly in recent years.
"The last pumper that we purchased was in 2012 and that truck had a purchase price of approximately $380,000. So in a twelve year period, you can see that the price of a truck has more than doubled."
Once it arrives, Abrey feels the truck will be able to service the needs of Dauphin and the surroundng municipality for the next 20-25 years.
