Kootenay Boundary Regional Fire Rescue celebrated the arrival of its three new wildland fire trucks Thursday, before one of the vehicles was called into action.
“The Trail truck has responded to two wildfire in a week,” regional chief Dan Derby said. “We’re using them for medical calls. That’s going to relieve wear and tear on our large apparatus, which will be a big benefit.”
As if to emphasize the point, during the ceremony, the Trail truck was called to a report of an abandoned campfire near the boat launch.
The other two trucks will be stationed in Rossland and Fruitvale. The three vehicles and their equipment cost about $800,000 combined. The Columbia Basin Trust provided a grant to cover about half of the tab.
The trucks each carry a small pump, a 400-gallon tank, a hose reel, and equipment necessary for fighting wildfires and interface fires.
