A new 3,000-gallon water tender will give Warman Fire Rescue (WFR) personnel a huge advantage when they’re called to fires in rural areas.

The new Fire Apparatus Supply Truck, expected to be delivered this fall, will replace the oldest vehicle in the WFR fleet.

“The water tender we have now is over 40 years old and we can’t get parts for it anymore,” said Warman Fire Chief Russ Austin, adding the new supply apparatus truck is badly needed.

Warman City Council passed a motion to award the contract for supplying the new truck to Helie Fire Trucks Inc. of Joliette, Quebec, during a video-conference council meeting on Monday, June 22.

The new vehicle carries a price tag of $338,562 plus taxes. The Quebec-based company put forward the lowest bid in a competitive tender process that saw five companies compete for the contract.

The tender process closed June 16.

Austin said the new truck fits the needs of the fire department. He told the June 22 council meeting that all members of the fire department were consulted on the truck’s design, and a committee finalized the specifications for the vehicle before submitting it to the tender process.

The vehicle’s large-capacity water tank is important because the fire department is often called on to respond to fires in areas where water supplies are not readily available.

Austin said the old truck will either get sold at auction, used by another city department, or passed along to a neighbouring town that currently does not have a water supply truck.