Belforest Volunteer Fire Department is pleased to introduce Engine 6455, a 1997 HME Fire Engine, the department posted on Facebook Sunday. Some of you may have spotted the truck upon its arrival in Belforest in early November. Since then, it has undergone a complete transformation, bringing the truck from the 1990’s into the 21st century. 

A multi-use asset with quick-response features and a host of modern capabilities, Engine 6455 is also equipped with: 

• 4-wheel drive
• A 15kW generator to power on-board hydraulic extrication tools, a light tower and other corded equipment
• 500-gallon water capacity and a 1000 GPM (gallon per minute) pump
• Hose, ladders and tools for structural and wild-land firefighting
• SCBA (Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus) cascade bottle fill station
• Medical equipment and supplies

Our dedicated team of volunteer firefighters spent over 300 working hours on the transformation of Engine 6455. Their willingness to go above and beyond, completing most of the service, installation and upgrade work has saved thousands in labor costs alone. We are incredibly proud of this talented and hard-working team, and their commitment to the Belforest community.

From the Riggins Volunteer Fire Department Facebook post:

“I would like to introduce our newest fire apparatus. A 2006 Pierce International 1000-gallon pumper. Our department wants to send a huge thank you to the Bonneville County Fire District for allowing us the opportunity to come down and see their operation and purchase one of their fine trucks. We had a great time and met some wonderful people.”

The Nichols Fire Protection District, which already has one new fire engine being built now by Pierce, would like to purchase another to replace a 1996 truck, The Pioneer News reported.

In exchange for providing a bay for the county’s EMS unit, the department received funding for a new fire engine, and that engine is expected to be delivered in September, according to a Nichols Fire Protection District Facebook post.

A fire official said the district had requested state grant funds but was told that the county had been awarded millions of dollars in the American Rescue Plan Act and that should be where the request should be made, the report said.

Last year, the county appropriated $601,000 to purchase the truck through the ARPA funds. To purchase that same truck today, the cost would be $749,000, according to the report.

The fire official said the district would have to shop around to see if there are any demo trucks which might be available at a lower cost, the report said. With an annual budget of $300,000, the fire official said the district just didn’t have the funds to make such a purchase.

The district would like to purchase another fire truck to replace an older truck, help cover its own 17 square miles of territory as well as providing mutual aid for other departments, according to the report.

Identifying lettering, new tools and other equipment have recently been added to a ladder truck introduced to the Tusculum Volunteer Fire Department roster in 2022, greenevillesun.com reported.

The truck is identified by the name of the department and the number 16 — the TVFD call number, the report said.

The multi-purpose ladder truck was obtained last summer by the fire department, the report said. It has been in service since Tusculum firefighters completed driver training and other familiarization exercises on the apparatus.

With its 105-foot ladder, the Tusculum Volunteer Fire Department truck is the tallest aerial apparatus in Greene County, and with a 2,000 gallon-per-minute pump, possibly the largest pump capacity also, a fire official said in the report.

A $298,075 grant for purchase of the fire truck was announced in January 2022 by Gov. Bill Lee and the state Department of Economic and Community Development as one of 62 Community Development Block Grants statewide, according to the report.

The grant required a 16% match from the City of Tusculum, or about $48,000.

The 2003 Pierce truck was purchased for $245,000, with the remainder of the grant money used for minor repairs and equipment, the report said. It came from a fire department in Pennsylvania. The truck replaced a 1997-model truck retired from the fire department fleet.