Visitors to last week's Bayfield Block Party are the first to check out the newest wildland fire truck in the area.
Upper Pine River Fire Protection District recently took delivery of a new Dodge 5500 wildland fire truck from Texas.
Staff members are currently receiving training on the new vehicle.
"Everybody loves this truck," said Corey Adamy, an Upper Pine firefighter who was showing the vehicle during the block party on Aug. 25. "This thing can go where no other truck can go."
The four-wheel-drive with dual wheels holds four crewmembers plus equipment. It's designed to be the first truck to reach a wildfire, or even a home up a winding driveway where a bigger truck can't get to.
Adamy explained that a complaint for many firefighters is that there's no room for their personal gear along with everything else they have to haul on a fire truck.
"Not with this truck," he said, displaying multiple compartments for equipment, medical supplies, and yes, space for firefighters' stuff.
The truck carries a 308-gallon water tank, along with pumps and hoses to draw water from ponds, rivers, or the department's own water trucks, if needed.
The truck also is outfitted with chainsaws, life support systems and first-aid kits.
There's also room for handtools such as shovels and picks, "the meat and potatoes" of fighting a wildfire if crews need to dig a fireline, Adamy explained.
There also are drip torches, which are basically small flamethrowers, if crews need to ignite an area in advance of a wildfire.
The interior of the truck has a mobile radio, LED interior lights and a rear lightbar to direct traffic left or right if needed.
There's a groundsweep an operator can use to spray water out of the front of the truck, as well.
The truck itself cost $145,000, plus the equipment in it, said Deputy Chief Roy Vreeland.
A grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs paid 50 percent of the truck's cost.
Upper Pine recently paid off a large firetruck, and this particular truck replaces an older one that needs to be retired, he added.
