The Crookston Firefighter’s Association picked up their new fire truck recently and spent Thursday evening outfitting it with the equipment from the old truck. The new truck is Engine 9 and replaces Engine 8 which was purchased in 1994.
Jake Leas, president of the association, said they began work to purchase a replacement truck in 2017. “We actually started talks back in the fall of 2017,” said Leas. “We spec’d out we need, checked how things have changed and what would be beneficial for us. We have our trucks on a 25-year [replacement] interval. The truck it’s replacing has its 25th birthday this year.”
A new engine costs $675,000 on average, but the association was able to purchase Engine 9 for $450,000, which also included a custom cab to improve safety. “We did some research that compared the commercial chassis we’re used to purchasing to the custom cab,” said Leas. “These custom cabs are supposed to be safer for firefighters in case of accidents. Luckily, we’ve been really fortunate and never had an accident with our department or the city’s department. But vehicle crashes are the second leading cause of firefighter fatalities. These custom cabs hold up a lot better than the commercial cabs.”
The new engine also has more room, and can officially hold six firefighters with a jumper seat for a seventh. “We got extra seating compared to our old truck,” said Leas. “It seats six with a jumper seat for a seventh firefighter. If we go on a mutual aid call outside of town, we’re able to get enough firefighters in one vehicle. We got a larger tank for our rural fires. With some of those, the water source gets a little sketchy. so we’re able to pump a little more water compared to our 1,000-gallon tank. We got this one at 1,250, so it gives us a few more minutes of firefighting capabilities.”
While Engine 8 will no longer be in the Crookston Fire Hall, it’s not being retired. The Nielsville Fire Department is going to replace two trucks that are 35 and 39 years old in their fleet with Engine 8. “We are selling our old truck to the Nielsville Fire Department,” said Leas. “They are replacing a 1970 and 1974 with our 1994 we were able to sell them so, they’ll get quite the upgrade and should get some good use out of it.”
Leas said the new truck will be available for public viewing. “Thanks to the townships and we’ll soon have an open house for them to come to look at it,” said Leas. “And of course, we’ll it opened up for people to walk around, jump in it and take a look during our pancake breakfast during Ox Cart Days.”
The association received over $120,000 in grants to help them purchase the truck including $75,000 from the Otto Bremer Trust and $14,000 in grants from Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, Walmart, Enbridge Pipeline, and Otter Tail Power Company. The association and the Crookston Fire Department have each of their trucks on a 20-25 year replacement schedule. Present trucks in the fleet include the following trucks at the Main Hall – Tanker (2000), Heavy Rescue Truck (1995), Grass Fire Truck with two Polaris Rangers (2009), Engine 9 (2019). Two trucks are at the North Station – Engine 7 (2001), Wildland Engine 4 (2002).
