NEWS ABOUT SAN JUAN COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT NO. 3
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District No. 3
takes command of new rescue truck
No, that white vehicle with blue stripes and red emergency lights is not a beer truck converted into fire truck, though bottles will fill some of its compartments. The bottles will be filled with compressed air for San Juan Fire District No. 3 firefighters responding to emergencies in the new all-in-one rescue vehicle.
"This rig is going to tie up all the loose ends," Lt. Joaquin Hubbard said of the truck which cost $120,000-plus.
"We wanted to get it all in one place," said Albert Olson, chairman of the district fire commission. "It's a needed rig and it will do fine."
District and town firefighters Saturday scrubbed the truck free of grime accumulated during a 4,000-mile trip from North Carolina. Hubbard said he and Firefighter Kyle Davies encountered "every type of weather imaginable" on their trip from the truck's outfitter in Washington, N.C. to training classes at the National Fire Academy on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. to Washington, O.C. (Other Coast).
Though the truck doesn't have the cherry-red paint and lines of a classic fire engine, it drew plenty of admiration from firefighters who happened by Saturday. They appreciated the vehicle's "tons of space" for Jaws of Life and other equipment used for auto accident responses, breaking into burning buildings, chemical spills and other emergencies. The firefighters praised its compressed air cascade system, which will replace an unwieldy trailer. They marveled at its PTO generator and spot lights, including a pair of detachable ones mounted on tripods.
"It has more lighting power than all the other district rigs combined," Hubbard said.
Supplies used to rehabilitate exhausted, injured or contaminated firefighters will be stocked on the truck, a Freightliner FL-70 with a lowered and fortified frame supporting a Hackney cargo box.
"It will also have a considerable amount of supplies for salvaging stuff in a (burning) house," Hubbard said.
OK, it's functional, but why is it white and blue?
"The Rescue Team wanted it to be white. They have a little bit different identity than firefighters," Hubbard said.
"The blue stripe represents "Rescue Team," Hubbard continued, noting the team's helmets have a stripe of the same hue.
In the future, the district plans to assign the rescue rig to its proposed station/office/training center near Mullis and Argyle roads. For now, it will probably be stationed at the Town of Friday Harbor's firehouse, Olson said.
