The City of Whitewater Fire Department dedicated a new fire engine on Jan. 22 with funds from a $250,000 FEMA grant.
The city picked up the remaining cost of the $530,000 fire engine, First Assistant Fire Chief Patrick Wellnitz said. The truck cost approximately $400,000 and the equipment cost close to $80,000.
Planning for the new fire engine has been in the works for nearly a year. On Feb. 7, 2010, a committee of 11 members started planning the design of engine 1221.
“The committee designed the truck in the three weeks,” Wellnitz said. “It usually takes up to a year to plan a truck. The committee was rushed to meet the FEMA deadline for the grant.”
The new engine will replace engine 1222, a truck the city has used for 25 years. Although engine 1222 wasn’t scheduled to be replaced until 2012, the city will benefit from the new features of the new fire engine.
“The new engine has some features our other trucks do not,” Wellnitz said. “There is a new generation of technology on this truck. The city’s other trucks are both 15-years-old.”
One of the features on the new engine is a three-inch diameter rapid attack monitor hose system, which allows the truck to pump 500 gallons of water per minute. Firefighters are able to leave the hose unattended while it sprays water.
“The goal of the new truck was to expedite firefighter safety,” Wellnitz said. “Most of the commonly used equipment is on the curbside of the truck.”
Wellnitz said fire engines usually last between 25 and 30 years.
