Brighton Council along with members of the Brighton Fire Department ushered in a new fire apparatus on Wednesday, October 18, 2023.
Members of Council and firefighters welcomed the 2023 Spartan Cab firetruck that will be housed at Station 1 in Brighton and used as a front line response pumper to emergencies.
Brighton Fire Chief Gene Thompson said to order a new truck there is a wait for up to 18-months, but Brighton Fire Department bought the pre-made stock truck made by Dependable in Brampton.
“Council was able to support the purchase of this truck and we brought it in under budget and on time.”
The new fire truck holds six firefighters as opposed to the previous one that holds five.
“There is a lot more room inside the cab on these trucks – a lot safer design.”
“Usually they are out of reach for a small municipality to purchase a custom cab truck.”
The truck holds 1,000 gallons of water and can pump 1,250 gallons a minute with lots of storage.
The new pumper replaces 2003 Freightliner which will still be used by the municipality for a short time.
The “Push-In Ceremony” was held which is a tradition in the fire service.
Thompson explains in the old days horses used to trailer pieces of apparatus to fires, but since the horse can’t back the apparatus into the fire station, the firefighters would “push-in” the apparatus.
With times being different, and fire apparatus becoming a lot heavier, even with members of the fire department and council trying to push the truck into the hall, they needed a bit of help from the truck itself.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
