New Fire Apparatus!
Have you noticed the seven new fire engines and one new truck? The next time you drive by your neighborhood Fire Station be sure to take note of the new apparatus. Our new fleet was built by Pierce in Appleton, Wisconsin and arrived in Mountain View a few months ago.
Let’s just go over a few of the differences between the new fleet and the old one:
- The new Pierce vehicles have an aluminum frame and body and the old ones were steel. This means that the new ones are much lighter and get better gas mileage.
- The new vehicles meet the EPA emissions regulations and have diesel particulate filters. This means they run cleaner and leave our air cleaner!
- The manufacturer crash tests the vehicles and also does a roof-crush test on them. This means our firefighters are safer as they travel to and from emergency situations.
- They also have a side-roll protection system, crumple-zones, seatbelts and frontal airbags. When we purchased our new vehicles, Pierce was the only fire truck manufacturer to install airbags in its vehicles and they had just started offering them. We’re the first to get them!
And one minor detail that you might not notice unless you have the chance of seeing an old engine next to a new one is that there’s a slight color difference. Sure, they’re all considered Fire Engine Red, but the new ones have slightly more of a bluish cast to the paint color and less of a yellow tint.
We still have 2 more vehicles on their way to Mountain View, a new rescue unit and a haz-mat unit. They should be here in 2010. All of our old vehicles were sold to small rural towns in California. Selling the old fleet helped pay for a portion of the new fleet. They were sold through a broker. We were hoping to see them listed on Craigslist, but that’s now how it’s done. The new fleet is expected to last for 15 to 20 years.
Most of us will never need to call the Fire Department, but it’s nice to know that if we did need them that they have the newest, most up-to-date equipment available and that our friendly firefighters will be safe as the hurry along our city streets.
We checked them out at the Art & Wine and wonderful equipment for our fantastic fire department. They do a great job and least we could do is offer them the tools they need to protect us.
Did you know that there’s a bit of a MVFD museum of sorts in Station #1 on Shoreline Blvd. near Villa? Pop into the lobby and you’ll see some old memorabilia.
The new truck and engines are so beautiful! It makes me proud to be a Mountain View resident. Thanks for all the cool stats!
On behalf of the Mountain View Fire Department, I’d like to thank the community for our new fleet of apparatus and for your constant support of our firefighters. They give their all every day to protect and serve the citizens of Mountain View.
Steven Hawkes
Battalion Chief