NEW TANKER 601

This International water tanker was purchased new in 2006 with the assistance of a 2005-2006 FEMA grant. The vehicle was built by Firovac located in Applecreek, Ohio. It is called a vacuum tanker which means that with the use of positive or negative pressure inside the water tank we can benefit by faster dumping and filling times, in turn increasing our ability to have more water at a fire. Vacuum tankers give the ability to utilize some water sources that with conventional methods were unusable in the past. The water tank holds 3600 gallons of water, this coupled with our Engine arriving on the scene with 1000 gallons of water at close to the same time allows us to have 4600 gallons of water when we first arrive. The addition of this water tanker to our community’s fleet is the result of time consuming efforts throughout our department. Grant writing process begins with application, notification of grant award. Once notified of award research and the writing of vehicle specifications from bumper to bumper begin. Upon completion of vehicle specifications the township Trustees open the bid process to the manufacturers. From that point bidding is officially closed and a selection is made of all bids in, a contract is then awarded to the manufacturer and the production begins with periodic inspections by department to insure specifications are being met. It is our opinion that we have been very fortunate to obtain this water tanker, we feel it will work well for our community for many years to come.