The grant covers half of the total cost of the tools. Outfitting the truck involves a few sets of hand tools, two fire shovels, three specialized backpacks that hold five gallons of water, eight hoses, two nozzles, three dual radio harnesses.  

The grant was initially applied for in July 2018.The new truck is a Ford F550, which was sent to Canada where it was worked on to become a functional fire truck, a process that takes a couple months or so at the least.

The largest of GFD’s firetrucks weighs in excess of 80,000 pounds, fully loaded. Smaller vehicles can carry 500 gallons of water to a site, some can carry 1,000 gallons, and the largest can carry up to 3,200 gallons. That affects the handling of these emergency vehicles.

The driving and maneuvering of one of these vehicles is only half of the training these firefighters need when they start. Learning to use all the equipment on a fire-truck is usually another week of instruction, Gunter said. Each truck is unique in what emergency equipment it carries, or it’s special unique function, whether it be carrying water, shooting water from a high elevation, or pumping.