Northern Bruce Peninsula council is approving the purchase of a tanker from the Chippewas of Nawash Fire Department.

During a meeting on June 13, a report was brought forward by Fire Chief Jack Burt.

The report recommended purchasing the fire department’s 2002 freightliner tanker and declaring the current 1990 GMC Pumper as surplus.

The report says the Chippewas of Nawash Fire Department declared the tanker surplus as they recently acquired a new tanker.

The report adds the freightliner currently has less than 14,000 kilometres on the vehicle and has been regularly maintained, and is in good condition.

The report says the current pumper does not have the ability to shuttle water to and from a fire scene, and is also a standard transmission which some staff have difficultly driving.

The 2002 tanker was inspected last month by Northern Bruce Peninsula fire and emergency services fleet mechanic, who was able to confirm the tankers condition. Fire services also took part in a pump test of the tanker last month.

The tanker also comes will hoses, nozzles, two port-a-tanks, which allow for storage of water while fighting fires, a portable bush pump, and others.

“This 2002 Freightliner Tanker will improve Northern Bruce Peninsula Fire and Emergency Services ability to shuttle water to fire scenes. In previous years, Northern Bruce Peninsula Fire and Emergency Services relied heavily on two tankers from South Bruce Peninsula Fire Department’s Wiarton station. South Bruce Peninsula sold one of these tankers two years ago affecting water shuttle capacity in Northern Bruce Peninsula,” says the report.

The report says increasing the tanker capacity to three in Northern Bruce Peninsula will help extinguish fires in a timely manner. Often during fire scenes, operations must be put on hold due to a lack of water while fire fighting due to a lack of water. Having a third tanker will mitigate these pauses and increase firefighter safety and protection of property.

The cost for the purchase of the tanker, including all of the equipment with the vehicle, will cost the municipality $18,000, and would be allocated from fire reserves. Any money made from the sale of the surplus tanker will be returned to the reserve.

“This helps modernize our fleet and gives us the ability to transport more water in the event of a fire in Northern Bruce Peninsula,” says Burt.