NEW TRUCK - East Tawas has a new $500,000 custom built rescue/pumper truck, which arrived Friday from Wisconsin. The truck will be put into service during a 4 p.m. ceremony Saturday at the fire station. - Photo by John Morris

New fire truck arrived Friday in East Tawas
by John Morris

EAST TAWAS - Christmas arrived early for the East Tawas Fire Department.

The city’s new $500,000 fire truck pulled into East Tawas at about 8:30 p.m. Friday. And during a 4 p.m. ceremony Saturday at the East Tawas Fire Hall, the fire department’s Engine No. 1 will be officially put into service.
According to East Tawas Fire Chief William Deckett, the ceremony includes a sounding of the 2007 fire truck’s siren, a page to 911 Central Dispatch that the new vehicle is now in service, followed by the traditional “pushing” of the fire truck into the station by firefighters. The public is invited to attend the ceremony.

Deckett said the new truck replaces two fire department vehicles - the former rescue truck and the 1990 pumper. The old rescue truck was originally purchased by the fire department from the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base and earlier this year was taken out of service due to safety reasons and the 1990 pumper has been sold to the City of McBain.

NEW SYSTEM - East Tawas Fire Chief William Deckett shows that firefighters will now be able to fill their air tanks on scene at the department’s rescue/pumper truck. - Photo by John Morris

“This will be our first truck out for fires and accidents,” Deckett said

The fire chief said the truck, which was built in Appleton, Wis. by Pierce, is custom made to fit the needs of the city.

“Literally hundreds of hours were spent to meet the needs of the community to be able to replace the two trucks with one,” Deckett said.

For example, the diesel truck has a storage unit on the front bumper for the Jaws of Life. The Jaws of Life will be operated from a pump connected to the truck’s transmission, rather than from a separate gas motor.

The fire truck’s pump, used for fighting fires, is located toward the rear of the vehicle, rather than at the traditional middle of the truck. The unit can pump up to 1,250 gallons a minute of water and compressed air foam, which Deckett says is six yo eight time more effective on a fire than using just water. The pump system also comes with its own diesel powered 27,000 BTU heating system.

Located at the middle of the truck is a system to fill firemen’s air packs. Deckett said the truck’s system can handle up to 2,000 pounds of pressure and is more effective than the fire hall’s air pack cascade system. He said a new feature in the truck is a booster that can fill up 100 air tanks before losing pressure. That compares to the fire hall’s system which can only fill 15 prior to losing pressure.

Another feature is the truck has its own 110 volt electrical system in the cab so that laptop computers and GPS systems can stay fully charged. The truck also has an onboard generator to run rescue saws and lights. It also has an extendable light tower for night rescues.

Deckett said the truck has customized storage units also designed to meet the firefighter’s needs. One such unit has two “tool boards” that can be taken off the truck and carried to the scene. Other units store air packs (doubles previous capacity), back boards and other equipment.

The fire truck’s pump, used for fighting fires, is located toward the rear of the vehicle, rather than at the traditional middle of the truck. The unit can pump up to 1,250 gallons a minute of water and compressed air foam, which Deckett says is six yo eight time more effective on a fire than using just water. The pump system also comes with its own diesel powered 27,000 BTU heating system.

Located at the middle of the truck is a system to fill firemen’s air packs. Deckett said the truck’s system can handle up to 2,000 pounds of pressure and is more effective than the fire hall’s air pack cascade system. He said a new feature in the truck is a booster that can fill up 100 air tanks before losing pressure. That compares to the fire hall’s system which can only fill 15 prior to losing pressure.

Another feature is the truck has its own 110 volt electrical system in the cab so that laptop computers and GPS systems can stay fully charged. The truck also has an onboard generator to run rescue saws and lights. It also has an extendable light tower for night rescues.

Deckett said the truck has customized storage units also designed to meet the firefighter’s needs. One such unit has two “tool boards” that can be taken off the truck and carried to the scene. Other units store air packs (doubles previous capacity), back boards and other equipment.

Other safety features include new bus-type “10-11” mirrors that allows the drive to see the front of the vehicle need the ground and 45-degree reflective safety stripes. And for safety reasons, the truck’s red lights even change to amber when the vehicle is parked at an emergency scene.

The truck’s cab can hold up to four firefighters. Deckett said the truck could have held up to six firefighters but the two extra seats were sacrificed so that firefighters could carry and store more gear in the cab.

Firefighters this week will continue training on how to use and operate the new truck.

The new pumper/rescue truck joins the fire department’s fleet of another pumper, a ladder truck, a brush truck and a First Responder’s vehicle. The fire department has 26 firefighters.