Mansfield Mayor Larry Austin said the city applied for the grant last fall and the money will go toward purchasing new equipment, including radios, beepers and leafblowers, as well as turnout equipment such as fire-resistant clothing and boots.

“This grant replaces a lot of equipment that we have that’s out of date,” Austin said. “The City Council and I met with the Fire Department about six months ago and we just asked the question, ‘What do you need?’ They said, ‘We need turnout gear, we need backpack leafblowers and we need some radios and beepers,’ so we just took the whole list and put all we could in this application.”

Austin said the city will match the $8,942 provided by the grant with another $8,942, leaving $17,884 for new equipment.

The Wildland/Urban Interface unit is a multi-purpose, multi-function response vehicle, equipped with all terrain capability, a must-have for Riverside County’s landscape and locale. Riverside County chose Spartan for its commitment to product quality, its reputation for outstanding after-sale support, and Spartan’s ability to customize the apparatus to meet Riverside’s specific needs at a competitive price.

The truck features include a unique front bumper configuration with a 16-degree angle-of-approach for improved off-road performance, a custom aluminum body that maximizes equipment storage while maintaining a small footprint, and pump-and-roll capabilities.

“We worked closely with Riverside Fire Department to design a truck that meets their unique Wildland / Urban interface needs. We know there’s a broad need for vehicles like this because four other districts, including San Diego County, have purchased units from our Riverside contract,” says Travis Grinstead, President and CEO of Emergency Vehicle Group (EVG), Spartan’s Orange County-based dealer, which serves California, Arizona, and Nevada.