Seminole Fire Rescue is ready for brush fires of any size, thanks to a new truck specifically outfitted to fight brush fires. The truck is a former Army cargo truck and is built to get into tight spots to fight brush fires.

 

The truck replaces the department's former brush truck which was 53 years old. Some firefighters were worried the old truck wouldn't make it through another brush fire season.  

Instead of having the vehicle converted by a private company, the city of Seminole relied on their own fleet maintenance staff to make the alterations, including adding a 700-gallon water tank, hoses and a big bumper capable of mowing down large branches.

The vehicle is commonly used during emergency situations such as when it was deployed in several locations in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. There are four to six paramedics aboard the mass casualty evacuation ambulance unit at any given time.

On Monday, Carl Hein — a retired lieutenant from the Ann Arbor Fire Department, and now a sales representative with the Apollo Fire Equipment Co. — explained the features of a battery-operated spreader, cutter, ram and multipurpose tool to the representatives from the Grand Haven department and the Grand Haven Township and Spring Lake Township fire rescue departments. He emphasized the advantage of using equipment which is not attached by a line to a generator.  

Grand Haven Township Lt. Matt Schweitzer explained that the three fire departments were planning to replace some equipment over the next couple of years and were working together to get a better discount. A full set of the tools would be in the $30,000 to $35,000 range.

Gaining the communities support was not easy and lead to voting on the matter three separate times. Eventually, the project was approved with 11 votes tipping the scale.  

Construction of the station took place over the past year, with final touches finishing up this past April.