SUNBURY - The new $300,000 Upper Augusta Township tanker truck is in service and ready to help the community. Township Fire Chief Bill Brown said the 2016 Western Star is replacing the deteriorating 2,500-gallon 1988 Mac Tanker. "It was on its last leg," Brown said. "The body was falling apart.
The new truck was paid for with a combination of a $236,000 federal Assistance to Firefighters Grants, $50,000 worth of township money and $14,000 worth of fire company money raised through multiple fundraisers.
“Without the grant, it would have been impossible,” Brown said. “The township supervisors were also extremely helpful with the purchase. We couldn’t have done it without them.”
The new 31-foot-long truck was built by Midwest Fire Equipment & Repair Company out of Luverne, Mn. It holds 3,000 gallons of water and can pump 1,000 gallons a minute. It also has a PTO pump on the truck instead of needing a portable pump, all the dump valves are electric operated from the cab and has a lot of compartment space.
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Captain Jeff Fetterman, of the Upper Augusta Volunteer Fire Department tests out a hose connected to the company's new tanker truck.
Justin Engle/The Daily Item
“It’s night and day,” Brown said. “There’s just no comparison to the old truck.”
The tanker puts the township’s fleet up to six vehicles, including an engine, a mini-pumper, a brush truck and two boats.
“We have a reliable apparatus that can function in multiple aspects,” Brown said.