New Water Tender Joins Swan Valley Emergency Services' Fleet

SWAN VALLEY – Swan Valley Emergency Services (SVES) just added a 4,000 gallon water tender to their fleet of firefighting equipment. SVES Fire Chief Randy Williams said now that they have the capability to haul 10,000 gallons of water with three tenders, water should not be a significant issue on an incident within their fire service area.

SVES started the process to obtain the new truck more than a year ago. They formed a committee to find out what a Type II water tender needed to comply with the state and federal requirements for wildland and structure fire.

"We added odds and ends to it to make it simple yet meet all the specs that are required," said SVES volunteer and committee member Owen Conley.

With a $50,000 grant from the Donner Foundation to SVES and funding from the Swan Valley Fire Service Area, they purchased the $120,000 water tender. The board approved the $70,000 out of their budget. It took five months to build the water tender

The rear-wheel drive, 2004 International was purchased from a prison in Washington. It was used as a garbage truck and came with 13,700 miles on it.

The 4,000 gallon tank was constructed at Puget Sound Truck Sales in Washington. While it is capable of drafting from a water source, SVES received a portable trailer pump that Williams estimates can fill the tanker in less than six minutes.

It also came with a fire monitor, a controllable, high-capacity water gun, that can be aimed and shoots out of the top of water tank. The monitor is operated by the driver with a joystick from inside the cab. Williams said, "It doesn't just haul water, it can spray water."

This makes three water tenders for the department. SVES also has a 3,200 gallon Kenworth water tender and a 2,800-gallon Mack Tanker.

"We don't have hydrants like Seeley," said Williams. "Having water available at a fire is crucial."

Conley added that the available water is difficult to access. Having more tenders available reduces the turnaround times making more water available during an emergency.

The original intent was to replace the Mack Tanker because is it a stick shift.

"[The new water tender] is a full automatic with three buttons, neutral, drive and reverse. Just about anyone can get in it and drive. We only have a handful of guys that can drive the Mack."

Williams added that one of the hesitations with getting rid of the Mack is that it has a monitor. "This has a monitor too, so we will see," said Williams.

Last fall the SVES had their Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating. Williams said that any homeowner within five road miles of the station in Condon and the station near Salmon Prairie received an eight, instead of the 10 rating, the lower number being the better rating. Some insurance companies will offer a discount to homeowners based on the ISO rating.

This is the first time the station near Salmon Prairie was recognized. Williams said that while there are many factors that affect the ISO rating, the additional equipment and meeting all the requirements helped improve the rating.

When the tanker is used for emergency response within the fire service area, a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) with a tanker endorsement is not required. However, if it were sent out to work on an incident out of the coverage area, a driver with a CDL would be required.

Williams said they have six certified CDL drivers, "but normally we don't have to worry about it because it is an emergency situation."

The truck has already been used on a structure fire. It is equipped with two sets of chains on each side. SVES will be adding a portable tank, discharge hose and hose fittings in the near future.

"The Donner Foundation is very generous to us. I would dare say if it wasn't for their donation, we wouldn't have the truck," said Williams. "I think it is going to be a great plus."

 

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