FORT DAVIS, Texas — Davis Mountain Property Owners Association Volunteer Fire Department received a grant
to purchase a new slip-on unit with a 700-gallon water tank. Adding this apparatus to a transformed excess military
vehicle helps increase the capacity of the department to save lives and property.
A slip-on unit is an apparatus built to meet the demands of the fire service and easily mounted in the back of a pick
up or a custom-built platform and is especially effective in fighting wildland fires, off-road grass fires, car fires, and
many others.
The grant for the slip-on unit is from the Texas A&M Forest Service Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance
Program, and the 5-ton military truck was attained through the Department of Defense Firefighter Property Program.
“Our FFP trucks are an essential part of our fleet,” said Davis Mountain Property Owners Association VFD Fire Chief
Ken Gossette. “We are situated in the mountains of west Texas where challenges of terrain, notoriously bad roads, or
no roads means we need extremely reliable vehicles that can go anywhere. Our primary service area is remote, with
scattered residents in the wildland-urban interface, at altitudes ranging from 5,000 to 7,000 feet. The ability to bring a
large water supply to the fight is essential for a quick knockdown. This new slip-on helps to reduce the logistical
water supply problem.”
This is the second military vehicle that the department converted to meet the special needs of the department.
“We now have “twin” trucks ready for quick response,” said Gossette. “We appreciate the Texas A&M Forest Service
programs supporting small departments like ours. Without the grant program, we could never obtain equipment
suitable to meet the needs of our community.”
Davis Mountain Property Owners Association VFD has been serving their community since 1980.
Texas A&M Forest Service is committed to protecting lives and property through various fire department assistance
programs. The Department of Defense Firefighter Property Program launched in Texas in 2005, is one such program
and has released over 500 retired military trucks to volunteer fire departments across the state. The agency transports the vehicle from a military installation, performs necessary repairs, and delivers it to the volunteer fire department at no cost to them. The Texas A&M Forest Service excess military equipment program is sponsored by the USDA Forest Service, which also oversees the national program.
For more information on programs offered by Texas A&M Forest Service, please visit http://texasfd.com.