The City of Fernie’s firefighting capabilities have been bolstered by the recent acquisition of a new $334,000 fire truck.

The city Jan. 6 introduced a replacement fire truck – a 2012 Rosenbauer Centurion side mount pumper – for its 22-year-old Ford HUB triple combination fire truck, which had exceeded its service life and Fire Underwriters’ Survey certification.

“With the new truck we will be able to provide more efficient fire protection services, particularly in the rural fire protection area and in the city as development moves away from the core and into hillside areas,” said Fernie Fire and Rescue Department Chief Shawn Ivany. “The evolution of features and usability of firefighting equipment over the last 20 plus years is remarkable and member safety will be enhanced with this new truck.”

The city originally budgeted $400,000 for the replacement truck, so the new unit came in under-budget. The city will pay approximately $1,400 a month over the expected 20-year life span on the truck. Rural property owners (in the Regional District of East Kootenay) will contribute about one-third of the cost of the new engine.

The new truck is a Rosenbauer Centurion that is assembled on a 2012 Freightliner four-wheel drive and is a four-door cab and chassis. Along with its four-wheel-drive capability the truck has other advanced features that will improve fire fighting efficiency and response times, and enhance firefighter safety, a city press release notes.

Above photo: Fernie council poses with the new fire truck. Image courtesy City of Fernie.

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