Newman Lake Gets New Fire Trucks

Twenty-five Newman Lake firefighters crowded around the new fire trucks. They stood on top of the tank, looked through the back window of the cab and hung from the sides.

Thursday was the first night of training on the two fire trucks, which arrived in Newman Lake last week.

A representative from the local distributor was on hand to explain all the bells and whistles - and the annoying beeps on one truck.

“These are your new rigs. Treat them with kindness,” said Greg Issacs, a mechanic for Wellspring, over the sound of loud beeping. “That’ll get fixed.”

The class A pumper trucks are the first brand-new, never-been-used-before vehicles Newman Lake Fire District 13 has gotten since buying a new brush truck in 1978.

The district had planned on buying used trucks, but then saw they could get a brand-new standard model for less money than a used truck, said fire chief Bob Kolva. The E-1 trucks cost $125,000 each.

The trucks have 300 horsepower engines. Each tank can hold 1,000 gallons of water.

Firefighters practiced hooking up hoses to the new trucks and spraying water in a long stream across the street. Others opened the compartment doors.

“We have to figure out where all the new goodies go,” said one firefighter.

The district also plans to buy two additional water tenders and two brush trucks. All the new rigs are part of a $500,000 bond passed by district voters in March.

“We’re very tightly pinching our pennies,” Kolva said.

The new trucks will replace a 1968 Ford pumper and a 1969 American LaFrance, which came from the city of Spokane.

It was time for new rigs, said firefighter Jay Bowers. Fixing the old trucks has become a major budget expense. And there’s always the worry they’ll break down on the way to a fire, Bowers said.

“If you’re not even sure it’s going to make it to the scene … that’s bad,” he said.