STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Erath County Fire and Rescue recently added a new tanker to its fleet thanks to a $200,000 grant from Texas A&M Forest Service.
“Erath County Fire Rescue did not exist when I first started working at TFS,” said Resource Specialist III, Keith Vaughan. “Over the years, I have seen a tremendous amount of progress for them. This apparatus is a great addition to their fleet.”
The 2016 Pierce Tanker is equipped with a 2,000-gallon water tank, pump, deck gun, backup camera with sound, and rollout trays on both sides of the truck. The tanker is ideal for structure fires, and its addition will help to extend the life of the department’s other vehicles.
“The tanker/pumper is a smaller, more flexible truck that can get into places that our larger truck can’t go,” said Erath County Fire Rescue Fire Chief Chris Brooks. “Plus it will help to increase the longevity of our other vehicles since we can use it to protect structures during fires.”
Volunteer firefighters operate 85 percent of the fire departments in Texas. This year TFS will pass approximately $24.3 million along to VFDs across the state. The grants aid them in purchasing equipment and obtaining vital firefighter training, giving them greater capabilities to protect life and property in their communities.
“It is important for fire departments to have access to the different grant programs made available through TFS,” Brooks said. “They help the departments improve and update their equipment and training. I am not sure how some departments would stay in business without them.”
To learn more about this program, visit our fire department programs page.