The department has been relying on a 1997 fire engine that has served it well, but with its age the costs of repairs and maintenance made it necessary to replace. Robertson said the engine currently has brakes, maintenance and electrical issues.

“It has an emergency brake that doesn't work,” Robertson gave as an example of the older truck's problems. “We would get to a fire, have to turn off the engine, get out, chock the tires, get back in and start the engine, then hook up the hoses.”

Parker County Emergency Services District No. 7 acquired the new $354,000 fire truck for the Cool-Garner VFD on a 12-year lease purchase, with a service life expectancy of 20-25 years.

Still, fire chief Antonio “Tony” Lopez assured this week that it’s what the fire truck can do that will improve emergency response in the community.

Dubbed as “state-of-the-art,” the 2016 Ferrara Cinder Rescue Pumper measures 36 feet and 5 inches in length and weighs in at 47,102 pounds and 8 ounces. It comes equipped with a 1,750 gallon-per-minute pump, with 1,000-gallon capacity, and is dual-purposed for emergency medical services.

Lopez said the city acquired the truck on a $525,000 lease purchase agreement, which amounts to annual payments of $53,000 for 10 years. The fire chief also noted that the expenditure was funded through the City of Weslaco’s Apparatus Replacement Program, which earmarks 25 percent of in-house EMS revenues — as much as $1.6 million was reported during the last fiscal year — toward such purchases.

After Lopez was named the fire chief in 2015, he conducted an assessment of the department’s resources and fleet, which allowed him to identify a need for several upgrades. In March, for instance, the department purchased 2016 Ford F-450 twin ambulance units on a $340,000 lease purchase.

Big Blue, as the new truck is affectionately named, is the latest in a series of purchases made possible thanks to the program, which Lopez has credited city leadership for implementing, and strengthens the fleet to three. The 2004 unit the new truck replaces will be used in a backup capacity.

The cause isn’t fully known, but apparently the rig was parked on a knoll that had been burned over a few hours earlier and something still smoldering beneath the dirt may have caught the rear tires on fire.

The crew did spray the area down with water before leaving, according to the department.

“At the time, our firefighters were 500 yards away fighting the fire,” Marshall said.

The engine fire was spotted by an airplane and other engines parked nearby were used to put it out.

Engine 21’s rear tires were burned away and its back half was severely damaged.

The tires of another nearby truck from a different county were also damaged.

Marshall said Engine 21, which was from the Taft fire station, was returned on Friday.

Damage is still being assessed to see if it’s a total loss.

Engine 21 cost about $415,000, which doesn’t include all the equipment such as hoses, jaws of life, etc. That adds another $150,000 to the cost.

Marshall was confident Kern County would be reimbursed for the loss.

He wasn’t sure where the money would come from because large fires like this have multiple agencies involved.

For instance, this engine was requested by the California Office of Emergency Services.

The Soberanes Fire has also already received a Fire Management Assistance Grant from FEMA.