Sundre's fire department has acquired its new $400,000 pumper and is in the process of selling its old one and using the proceeds to invest in either a new medical unit van or a jet river rescue boat.
Fire Chief Marty Butts said the new pumper, a 2012 custom cab four-wheel drive model, arrived two months ago. He said the fire department also raised an additional $34,000 for the new pumper to have extra lighting features and equipment installed on the vehicle.
“I felt we needed something more elaborate - more extras for safety,” said Butts. He said the $400,000 cost, budgeted several years ago by both the town and Mountain View County, was split by the two municipalities.
The town now has two operational pumpers – the newly acquired one and a secondary vehicle that is 11 years old.
Butts said the new plan now is to sell off the old 1991 Ford pumper, which has been stripped of its equipment. He said the Winnipeg Beach Fire Department has agreed to purchase it for $8,000.
“If we can get $8,000 for it then we should jump on that. This one (old pumper) is in great shape,” said Butts.
Town council agreed at its regular meeting on Nov. 19 to move ahead with the Winnipeg Beach offer. Council was told the county has already agreed to sell the old pumper. The $8,000 will be split between the town and county.
Butts said he would like to invest the money from the old pumper sale to either replace the department's 12-year-old medical unit van, which was donated years ago by Shell Canada, or go towards purchasing a jet river rescue boat.
“The medical unit is old and tired. We do not have a river rescue boat,” said Butts, adding the current medical unit has logged more than 200,000 kilometres. “If we can take the money from the sale and put it towards it that would be awesome.”
He said a new medical unit van would cost between $65,000 and $70,000 while the price tag for a new jet river rescue boat would be about $45,000.
Butts said he will be making formal requests to both Sundre and Mountain View County councils for the necessary funds in the 2013 budget presentations.
“We hope to see in 2013 some of this stuff approved,” said Butts, adding his first preference is having the funding for the new medical unit van.
“The river rescue boat is for summertime use only, but I am trying to gear up for the worst-case scenarios, flooding and stuff,” said Butts.
He added, however, that under a regional plan the Sundre Fire Department has been identified as having specialists in outback and river rescues and it currently only has a Zodiac craft to perform river rescues.
