Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Two Area Cities Get New Brush Fire Trucks
FARMINGTON — The Prairie Grove and Farmington fire departments will have the latest equipment when it comes to battling grass and brush fires this summer.
The Farmington- Prairie Grove Rural Fire Association purchased a $130,000 brush truck for each department. The new vehicles have been delivered and are now in service.
Th e t rucks we re purchased with annual fees paid by members of the rural fire association.
“We want people to know what their rural membership fees go to,” said Mark Cunningham, Farmington fire chief. “They are used to buy apparatus.”
Each truck holds 500 gallons of water and the water can be sprayed at 170 gallons per minute. Water can spray from five different places on the truck and the firefighters can control the spray from within the truck. The trucks also have storage compartments for blowers and other equipment.
J.C. Dobbs, Prairie Grove fire chief, said the department’s older brush truck is about 15 years- old and will be used as a secondary vehicle.
“We want to stay proac- tive and keep our trucks up- to- date,” Dobbs said. “This is so we will not get behind the eight-ball.”
The new truck handles better, sprays more water and is a bigger truck, Dobbs added.
Cunningham said wildland fires are increasing and the new trucks will allow the fire departments to especially protect the outlying areas around Farmington and Prairie Grove.