
Sherman Volunteer Fire Department welcomed a new tanker truck, reports The Greater New Milford Spectrum.
The truck, equipped with a 1,250-gallon-per-minute fire pump, will replace the current 1999 Freightliner tanker. The fire department posted to Facebook, “In rural communities, such as Sherman, with no municipal water distribution systems, the tanker is the single most critical piece of fire protection apparatus. This truck allows us to haul large quantities of water to the scene of a fire, when it is urgently needed. Our new tanker’s greatly improved capabilities include, a more powerful motor suited for Sherman’s steep hills, a 4x increased pump capacity, and advanced safety systems, among many other improvements. Our old tanker was really only suited to carry water. It had minimal firefighting capacity beyond that. With the addition of the fire rated pump, preconnected hoses, improved scene lighting, and ability to carry additional equipment it becomes a more versatile piece of apparatus on scene.”
The truck costs $649,000, with the town funding 80 percent of the cost over two years and the department funding the remaining 20 percent through fundraising efforts over the past five years, according to Fuchs.
The SVFD was awarded two grants from the U.S. Forestry’s Volunteer Fire Assistance grant program, which helped purchase the majority of the new equipment and hose for the truck.