The Southside Volunteer Fire Department, has finally received their new fire truck, after a two-year long wait.

“We have been looking for a new truck for about two years now our other engine truck kept breaking down on us so we were trying to get grants and we ended up getting a new truck finally,” said Axel Orr, the President of the Fire Hall adding that the money from Regional District of Bulkley Nechako (RDBN), Nechako Kitimat Development Fund (NFDF) and the Bulkley Valley Credit Union (BVCU) helped them with this.

The RDBN put up $189,202 towards the new truck. The NFDF gave $40,000 and the BVCU contributed $12,000 towards the new truck that cost roughly over $300,000. The crew also had their own money in their account that they put up towards the new truck.

“It is a replacement for the one that broke down. It’s a brand-new truck; the pump itself is new – it has on board 960 gallons of water, it has the breathing apparatus in the seats with easy storage,” said Orr, excited about the new machine.

Currently, the Southside Volunteer Fire Department has around 15 volunteers but according to Orr, ever since they got the new truck, they have got a few new faces.

To celebrate the new truck, as well as to introduce it to the community, the department held an open house on Oct.2 which was attended by almost 100 people, over four hours. The open house offered the community a look at the new truck, a cake cutting, food and drinks as well as fire extinguisher demonstration for adults and kids.

The Southside Volunteer Fire Department meets every Tuesday at 7 p.m. for their practice and training sessions.

“We are always looking for volunteers so if you are interested in joining our department, you should come down on Tuesday nights at 7 p.m.,” said Orr.

Priyanka Ketkar
Multimedia journalist
@PriyankaKetkar

priyanka.ketkar@ldnews.net

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