Last Saturday, the Colvill Area Volunteer Fire Department (CAVFD) received a used truck to replace an older tanker in its fleet. The new truck, which Assistant Chief Paul McFarlane called “a good, basic water hauler,” is a 2015 Freightliner equipped with a 2,000-gallon stainless steel tank.
Because the truck spent its early years in Ottawa, Ontario, the operating manual arrived in French, prompting the department to quickly find an English-language edition to keep in the glove box.
McFarlane said the truck is in the shop for service and modifications and will be put in service by this weekend.
The scrappy department, formed 30 years ago, has been laser-focused on getting the best value from its investments. Originally, various state agencies donated equipment. As trucks were added, the volunteer leadership purchased good, used vehicles and financed them through Security State Bank.
Cook County occasionally extends zero-percent or low-interest loans to local volunteer departments and townships—such as past assistance provided to the Hovland and Lutsen fire departments—to help them maintain rural fire response equipment without burdening local budgets all at once. In late September, Cook County Board Commissioners unanimously approved a zero-interest loan of up to $100,000 for CAVFD to help acquire an updated fire truck. The truck’s purchase price, including delivery, came to $100,500. CAVFD paid one-third upfront and financed the remaining $67,000 balance through the county’s five-year loan program. CAVFD sets aside $12,500 of its budget each year to accrue for and make truck payments.
The department will be working diligently in the coming days to put the community’s touch on the truck. A woman sign painter from Hovland, just up the road, will letter the truck. And McFarlane already has 1,600 red and yellow reflective dots to place on the rear of the truck. “We’ll be busy,” McFarlane said.
