LUCERNE, Calif. – Northshore Fire has a new piece of equipment to help keep the community safe.
The district has taken delivery of its new water tender, a 2015 Freightliner truck built by Florida-based Pierce Manufacturing.
Northshore Fire Chief Jay Beristianos said the water tender cost just over $238,000.
The new water tender, which goes by the number 9011, was primarily funded by a $194,072 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Assistance to Firefighters Grants program.
The grant, which the district received over the summer, was written by Pat Brown, who retired earlier this year from his deputy chief post with the district. Brown said he had tried for several years before his grant application was successful.
The new vehicle is a kind of tank truck firefighters use to bring water to areas where there aren't hydrants or other readily available water sources.
The grant required that the vehicle cost at least $203,000, with a $9,700 match from the district. For the district to get the top quality, lasting equipment it needed, Beristianos said it was decided to spend more than that base amount.
Like its predecessor, the new water tender holds 3,000 gallons of water, Beristianos said. What's new is that it has an additional 3,000 gallon portable tank.
The old vehicle was 1989 model with more than 600,000 miles. It was a converted construction water tender with a 13-speed manual transmission. That earlier truck was top heavy and difficult to drive, and so it was hard to find qualified operators, Beristianos said.
The new water tender is an automatic and handles nicely. Beristianos said Pierce Manufacturing had it driven to Lake County from Florida.
The district has sold the old water tender to a local contractor who is now using it for work in the Valley fire area, Beristianos said.
The grant required that the old equipment be sold with a stipulation that it cannot respond any longer to 911 calls. The idea, Beristianos said, is to get old, outdated equipment out of the fire service.
The new water tender will be based in Upper Lake. The district's second water tender, 7511, is a 2010 model at the other end of the district, in Clearlake Oaks, Beristianos said. That truck has about 12,000 miles on it.
Beristianos said the district is looking forward to updating other emergency equipment.
In mid-December, the district expects to take delivery of a new ambulance for its Lucerne station. Beristianos said the district has four frontline ambulances and two older backup models.
In 2016 there are plans to buy another new ambulance, which Beristianos said would gave all of the stations ambulances less than 10 years old – an important update considering the amount of use the district's ambulance get.
He said two new defibrillator units, costing a total of $72,000, recently were purchased to put on district ambulances, in an attempt to have the best, most state-of-the-art equipment for the community they serve.
He said a donation a few years ago from SuperLotto winner Tony Velasquez of Clearlake Oaks had funded other new defibrillator units.
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Northshore Fire takes delivery of new water tender truck
- Elizabeth Larson
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