Fire Chief Harry Turner said the department has been working with city administration, the city’s insurance and City Council to acquire a replacement truck. On the Jan. 12, the council authorized the purchase.

The order for the new truck was placed with West-Mark, out of Ceres.

“Originally we were given an approximate delivery date of September or October 2016,” Turner said. “With some unanticipated vacancies in West-Mark’s construction line, they were able to move up the delivery of the new water truck for the city.” Delivery is now expected within 30 days.

Last week Turner traveled to Ceres for the final construction inspection. There were only a few minor items that needed to be addressed, and West-Mark is working on those now.

The new truck cost $201,018.96. A majority of the cost is covered by the insurance claim payment for the burned truck. The balance is coming from fire impact fees, with no impact to the city’s general fund.

There are a few additions and modifications to the new truck that will make it better suited for the needs of the Chowchilla Fire Department.

Damon and his family have created a GoFundMe page for the project to help pay for materials for the stand. If you'd like to donate, click here.

Northern branch secretary Boyd Raines said the union believed the risk to firefighters and the public posed by the appliance was high.

It was the first time in 20 years that firefighters had blacklisted an appliance due to safety concerns.

Raines said there had been a spate of issues with the new fleet of MAN-branded fire trucks since they were brought in last year.

The German trucks were imported then fitted with necessary equipment like pumps by Lower Hutt company, Fraser Fire and Rescue, he said.

The union had received more the 200 complaints about the trucks, including doors not opening, trucks slipping out of gear and trucks not starting.

Raines said there were similar issues with other trucks in the Auckland City fleet and across the country.

The union was discussing the next steps with the fleet's management

Fire service communications shift manager Paul Radden said the truck was blacklisted on Tuesday and was not currently being used.

A spare truck had been brought in to replace it.