The purchase of a new front-line engine for Grand Forks Fire & Rescue was approved at the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary’s last board meeting. The Rosenbauer Triple Combination Pumper Engine costs over $538,000, and will be housed in the Carson Fire Hall once an addition is built, and the pumper is shipped in 2020.
Fire Chief Dale Heriot says they hope to start on the upgrades next year. “In discussion with the Regional District we’re hoping we can get back on track for 2019, again with everything that happened in 2018, that addition and everything sort of got put off, so we’re hoping that we can get that underway early in 2019.”
Heriot says the engine will ensure the department maintains their certification. “We have superior shuttle tanker certification, one of the requirements is you need to have a front-line pumper in order to retain that, and so having this pumper will allow us to maintain that front-line pumper status.”
The certification reduces insurance costs for residents. This also allows Electoral Area-D to maintain Fire Underwriters Survey requirements and the current fire grade rating. The current engine is set to serve as a backup at the Carson Fire Hall.