The tanker truck is essential for rural areas in Boonsboro that don’t have fire hydrants, Burton said. The new tanker truck would be able to carry 3,000 gallons of water, which is double what Boonsboro Fire and Rescue’s current tanker truck carries.

The need became all the more apparent last month when firefighters responded to a 911 call about a blaze at 2483 Charlemont Road. Below-freezing temperatures that day meant dry hydrants — pipes installed in natural water sources in rural areas for firefighter use — were frozen, rendering them useless. Trucks instead drew water from the Georgia-Pacific paper mill some eight miles away.

The union representing Culver City firefighters whose truck was hit around 8:30 a.m. on Interstate 405 in Culver City tweeted that the Tesla driver said he had been using Tesla’s Autopilot system, which performs automated driving tasks.

The California Highway Patrol and Culver City Fire Department confirmed the southbound Tesla had struck the fire truck, but could not immediately confirm whether the vehicle had been on Autopilot.

The fire truck had been parked in the left emergency lane and carpool lane, blocking off the scene of a previous accident, with a CHP vehicle behind it and to the side, said Culver City Fire Department battalion chief Ken Powell.

Both emergency vehicles had their lights flashing, Powell added