News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sisters' new fire truck is a custom built Pierce structural fire engine.
Sisters firefighters now have a state-of-the-art weapon to take on structural fires in the growing Sisters community.
Last week, Fire Chief Don Rowe, Assistant Chief Ken Enoch and volunteer firefighter Jeff Liming rolled into town with the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District's brand new Pierce fire engine.
The three firefighters took the $350,000 fire engine off the assembly line in Wisconsin, where the engine had been under design and construction since November of last year.
"It was built to fit our needs," said Enoch. "We designed what we needed out of the apparatus."
The design was prompted by growth in the Sisters area, particularly in the industrial park, where larger buildings are springing up.
The engine features a 1,250 gallons-per-minute pump and a 1,000-gallon tank. The engine can spew a high volume of both water and foam on a fire.
Six firefighters can ride in the cab.
The manpower-carrying capacity is critical, because safety regulations now forbid firefighters from riding on the outside of a fire rig. In the new engine, the firefighters can don their breathing apparatus while underway, secured in their seats.
The engine also carries a light mast that can illuminate a 360-degree emergency scene and carries automatic drop-down chains for winter driving safety.
The powerful rig with a 450-horsepower Cummins engine and Allison transmission is a pleasure to drive.
"It handles fantastic," Enoch said. "Actually, it has a sharper turning radius than our other vehicle this size."
The fire department regards the new structural engine as an investment in Sisters' future.
"This truck will be around here for 30 years," Enoch said.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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