Fire department orders custom pumper, ambulance

A new custom fire pumper and ambulance will soon be added to the Whitefish Fire Department’s fleet of emergency vehicles.

Whitefish City Council on May 20 approved the purchase of a Type 1 ambulance at a cost of $155,597 and a Type 1 Rosenbauer fire pumper for $495,112. Funds for each vehicle were allocated in the FY 2013 city budget.

The fire department currently has a pair of Type 1 pumpers purchased in 1994 and 1997 by the Whitefish Rural Fire Service Area and donated to the city. Both have surpassed their life expectancy of 10 to 12 years.

Fire Chief Tom Kennelly said it’s typical to get 15 to 20 years out of a fire pumper at a department the size of Whitefish. In larger cities, a truck might last just 10 years.

The new Rosenbauer pumper will be four-wheel drive with a Cummins diesel engine. It will pump about 1,500 gallons per minute with a compressed air foam system. The truck includes a 750 gallon water tank and has the ability to hold 2,500 feet of fire hose.

The new ambulance will replace a 1992 Type 1 vehicle that is past its life expectancy.

“It has served its time,” Kennelly said.

The new Braun NW ambulance will feature state of the art safety systems to protect the crew and patients.

The four-wheel-drive vehicle has a 6.7 liter Cummins diesel engine.

Both the fire pumper and ambulance will be custom tailored to the Whitefish Fire Department’s needs, Kennelly said. He expects the vehicles to be on the street in about a year.

The vehicles being replaced will be put into reserve status and possibly go to auction. Kennelly said plumbers and electricians often use old ambulances as work trucks.

The department is also looking to purchase a brush truck and tender, but bids for those vehicles came in higher than expected.