Richland Fire Department receives grant

RICHLAND ? The Richland Fire Department will be able to purchase a new grass fire truck thanks to a grant from the Department of Homeland Security.

The grant is for $71,250, which is roughly the cost of a new grass truck. Richland Fire Chief Mitch Ehrenfelt said the grant comes at the right time because the department?s current grass truck has quite a few miles under its hood.

Ehrenfelt and the 25-member fire department are still looking into bids for grass trucks, and they expect to have a new one in three months.

The grass truck Richland uses is 40 years old, and is actually owned by the forestry division of the Department of Natural Resources. Ehrenfelt said when the fire fighters are done using the truck, they return it to the DNR. He said the truck has poor steering and brakes.

Ehrenfelt said the truck is designed to fight grass fires but it does much more than that. It goes out on 80 percent of Richland?s fire calls because it is small and easily maneuverable.

?When we get to a house fire, the truck can pull up on the front side of the house,? he said. ?Sometimes the big trucks can?t get to the back side of a house or down an alley, either.?

Ehrenfelt added the grass truck is sent to many traffic calls instead of a large truck in order to prevent tying up the roads.

The grass truck is a pickup truck with a 300-gallon water tank in the bed, along with a platform for a person to stand while spraying water from the tank onto the fire. Ehrenfelt said water is frequently sprayed from the truck while it?s moving to keep up with an advancing prairie fire. He estimated 80 percent of the time the hose operator is using the hose while the truck is in motion.

The new truck the department will be able to buy with the grant money will be brand new. It will have a 450-gallon water tank and a larger platform in the bed, which will be more secure for the hose operator. Ehrenfelt said the current truck has a guardrail to prevent the operator from falling out but the chief said it?s not very good and it?s not as safe as it should be.

The other trucks in Richland?s fleet are not ideal for fighting grass fires because they are too big and can get stuck in the field.

?Our big water tank weighs 68,000 pounds,? the chief said. ?You don?t take it off-road.?

The fire department?s fleet includes a main pumper and two water tankers, one of which has a pump on it so it can be used as a secondary pumper if the first breaks down. The firefighters also have an equipment van.

The new grass truck will be equipped with a winch on the front. A winch is an electric motor with a cable that can be used to stabilize vehicles while first responders assist the people inside.

The grant comes from a program within the Department of Homeland Security called ?Assistance to Firefighters Grants.?

The AFG program allows first responders to purchase firefighting equipment, implement wellness programs that focus on health and improve facilities. Funds can be used for a myriad of needs, including new protective equipment, health and safety modifications to stations and training for emergency personnel.