“This is big for us and it will be a great addition,” Riga Township fire chief Mike Norman said when the new 3,000-gallon pumper/tanker truck was parked in front of the station.

The truck cost $277,000 and was made possible by the voter-approved fire equipment millage. It replaces an engine that was 25 years old.

Norman said the truck gives the department more capabilities for a variety of situations. He said one of the biggest advantages is the amount of water it can bring to the scene of a fire. Being a pumper/tanker allows it to carry a lot of water, but it also the ability to pump out a lot — 1,500 gallons per minute.

The White Lake Volunteer Fire Department recently purchased a 2006 mini-pumper truck to add to its fleet. The truck will service the Village of White Lake, Town of Evergreen and provide mutual aid to the Town of Wolf River.

A complete rebuild of the department’s existing pumper would cost approximately $400,000, Thomas told council. The labour costs for such a project mount quickly, as the truck “has to be stripped to its frame,” and rebuilt with all new materials.

Rebuilding would also take about six months, which means the city would have to rent another truck during that time, which would further add to that $400,000 price tag, Thomas said.

A tender to purchase the truck was posted on the city website, as well as on MERX—a website dedicate primarily for government tenders—and “only one firm responded to the tender.”

That firm was Carrier Centres Emergency Vehicles, which quoted a price of $588,319.33, plus applicable taxes.

The driver of that vehicle, a large truck hauling a roll-off dumpster, did not have time to avoid what was described by Richmond Police Chief Dave Teske as “half of the tree” and attempted to stop on the roadway.

The ladder truck slammed into the back of the truck hauling the dumpster, causing major damage, crushing the cab and trapping the firefighter inside. Michigan State Police and the Richmond Police Department used the “jaws of life” to extricate the firefighter from the vehicle.

The police chief said the volunteer firefighter was not responding to a fire run, but was instead performing a routine truck check to maintain his driving skills.