Athabasca town council will empty their fire reserves to give the Athabasca Volunteer Fire Department $7,000 to purchase a new first response truck.
Fire Chief Denis Mathieu said the department is looking for a three-way donation from the town, Athabasca County, and from Friends of the Athabasca Rescue Society.
“With wildfire season upon us, we need to act quickly,” Mathieu said. “We have already been called on a wildfire last Saturday and we were ill equipped and had to use three personal volunteers’ trucks in order to get the job done.”
The department is looking at a 2008 Dodge truck on sale for $44,000.
“It is imperative that we act quickly on resolving this matter,” he said.
The current truck, a 1996 model, was bought last year, but has been sucking dirt into the engine since the purchase, which has made it inadequate. Repairs to it could run as high as $10,000.
“This is a modified truck with the frame extended to accommodate an ambulance cab, so that the flat deck we installed is now a custom 12-feet long,” Mathieu said about the old truck.
Chief administrative officer Doug Topinka offered an argument against providing the requested funds.
“The fire department was given a huge increase, and this is now their priority, so they should have to redo the budget,” he said. “If it was just dirt in the engine, it would not be too expensive to replace. There are limits and council has been extremely generous already.”
Councillor Tim Verhaeghe went on to offer a counterpoint.
“I respect Doug’s opinion, but I am not opposed to their request. It is not unreasonable.”
“I would think that (the funding) is nothing compared to a burnt house. Maybe we can find the money somewhere,” noted councillor George Hawryluk.
