Fire department puts new truck in service

The newest fire truck at Comanche has all the bells and whistles in more ways than one.

The Comanche Fire Volunteer Fire Department recently received its fresh off the line 2023 tanker/pumper that will be a big help to the department.

Fire chief Scooter Bivins is happy with the addition, especially since it is versatile to both go in town or on rural calls.

“It can go wherever it is needed,” Bivins said. “It’s not going to be the first out because it’s not fully equipped, and its going to be a long, gradual process.”

Bivins said it would take about $100,000 to fully equip the truck, which cost $329,645, according to the chief.

“I just put in the radio, so its functional,” Bivins said. “It pumps 250 gallons per minute and has a 2,000-gallon water capacity.”

Like a new car purchase, the truck has a bumper-to-bumper warranty in case anything goes wrong, but Bivins said they are going to be careful with it as well.

“We’re not going to go tearing down rock roads in it with rocks flying everywhere,” Bivins said.

The fire chief insisted on a couple of improvements when he first went to see the truck as it was being built. One of the main things was putting in steps on the side of the truck so that the only entrance would not be at the back.

The top has a retractable sprayer and another modification Bivins insisted on was for the firefighter on top to control the sprayer with a lever. It was originally designed to come on when the switch on the side of the truck was flipped.

The new truck replaced an aging 1980 Chevy tanker that was sold at auction to a department in the Cayman Islands.

“We thought it was a scam at first, but it wasn’t, they paid us and came and got it,” fire chief Scooter Bivins said with a laugh. “We wondered what they were going to do with it in the Cayman Islands, but they said they were going to run it from one side of the island to the other as needed.”

About the only thing Bivins was not pleased about concerning the new truck was the mileage it had when it arrived. The truck originated in California and was driven to Pennsylvania for more work before the department picked up there and drove it to Comanche.

“It has over 4,000 miles and it would take us about four years to put 4,000 miles on it,” Bivins said.

Still, Bivins is quite happy with the purchase.

“I can’t think the citizens of Stephens County enough for voting for the tax that allows departments in the county to make these purchases,” Bivins said. “We couldn’t do things like this without it.”

The shiny red truck not only looks good, but it is also a welcome addition.

“It was needed,” Bivins said. “With the drought that is being forecast this summer, it could get a lot of use. They are talking about the drought being worse than it was in 2007. And, you can’t always rely on a 25 to 30-year-old truck.”

The truck joins some other trucks that have been purchased over the past several years, including a 2014 pumper truck and a 2019 brush truck.

“We’re in pretty good shape, right now,” Bivins said. “Our oldest truck now is Brush 4, which is a 1994 model.”