The new vehicle will be designated as “Rescue 23,” and replaces a 2001 E-One Super Lynx Midi-Pumper, scheduled to be sold as surplus property.

The rescue responds to all medical emergencies, vehicle accidents and similar rescue-related incidents. It also responds with a fire engine to vehicle fires, brush fires and haz-mat incidents, providing greater mobility and additional resources. There are two hydraulic hose reels for extrication equipment, allowing both the cutters and spreaders, to be pre-connected to the power unit, ready for immediate use at a vehicle accident. The compartments all have roll-up doors, providing increased convenience and safety when accessing equipment. Seating is provided for up to five personnel in the four-door cab.

The connection to the first fire truck is that a Howe Pumper, made in Elmira, N.Y., was purchased by the village the same year. Basically, a wagon carrying a wooden barrel and a pump for putting water on a fire, the apparatus was pulled by a team of horses. Assistant Fire Chief Rick Clancy said the aged firefighting vehicle was removed several years ago from the Neponset Fire Department’s branch station in Osceola. It was restored, researched, run in a few parades, and is now on permanent display in the Neponset Historical Society Museum.

According to a sign lettered in red which hangs on the side of the pumper, the original wooden wheels were replaced in 1928 with rubber truck tires. The sign states that the important piece of Neponset history was salvaged and painted by Gordon E. Burnett, owner before it was returned to the fire department.

Only moments later, the Sallisaw Fire Department, along with the new tanker, responded to an alarm of a fire near Applegate Cove.

The 2017 Model tanker is the first tanker the fire department has ever had, Armstrong said. It was built by Fouts Brothers and has a 3,000-gallon capacity tank. It also boasts a 1250 GPM pump. It took six months to build the tanker once it was ordered.

“It’s as large as any pumper we already have. It can be used as a pumper,” Armstrong said. “It can be used on car fires, or grass fires, or any where there is no fireplug protection.”

The cost for the tanker is $217,299. The Cherokee Nation donated $50,000 toward the purchase and the U.S. Department Agriculture came up with another $50,000, Armstrong said. The City of Sallisaw paid $117,299 in funds it already had budgeted for the tanker.