Thanks to a mammoth fundraising effort of barbecues, selling chocolates, movie nights and grants, the brigade was able to purchase the new vehicle.
Testing out the tanker during the past two weeks, brigade captain George Calleja said the vehicle would be returned for a final inspection before being ready to go — well ahead of the summer fire danger period.
“The community is growing and so we wanted to make sure we have the right tools to be able to protect it,” he said.
“This new tanker means that we can have two brigade members on the back, fighting fires, rather than battling the limitations of what the ultralight allowed us to do previously.
“We used to have to pull up and take the equipment off the back, now we follow grassfires with members on the back of the truck.”
And while the members were wide-eyed about their brand spanking new vehicle, they’re already back to the grindstone with a fundraising campaign to support the brigade’s grand plans to extend their existing shed.
“We’re hoping to extend to make it safer for our team at meetings and so it is easier to navigate the property,” he said. “We have had some land next door donated and that will allow our members to safely park off the road when we hold meetings — and also provide a space to turn the trucks around that is off the dirt road.”
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