The DMR volunteer fire department is adding a transformed military tractor-trailer to their small fleet of firefighting vehicles. The department received the former military truck and a $20,000 grant for an attachable water tank that holds 700 gallons of water.
The vehicle will be used to fight fires in hard-to-reach, remote areas in the Davis Mountains. Local Fire Chief Ken Gossett says fighting fires in the DMR comes with unique challenges like rough terrain and high altitudes.
“We must respond on those notoriously bad roads and many times the locations with no roads," said Gossett.
"I’ve responded to 911 calls where I had to stop and wait for dozens of turkeys to cross the road or a dozen burros, wild burros in the road we had to politely ask to get out of the way.”
The grant money for the water tank came from the Texas A&M Forest Service Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program.
The used military truck came from the Department of Defense Firefighter Property Program. It’s the second military truck to be converted and used to fight fires in the DMR.
Since 2005, the program has released more than 500 military trucks to volunteer fire departments across Texas.