DRAPER, Utah - The Utah National Guard officially took delivery of four new fire trucks for Camp Williams today at the Draper headquarters.
Maj. Gen. Brian Tarbet, adjutant general of the Utah National Guard, was on hand to accept the new vehicles. Camp Williams firefighting personnel were also present to answer questions.
The four Type 6 brush trucks, purchased from Larsen Apparatus in Newton, Utah, are Ford F550 Supercab 4x4s. The vehicles come equipped with mounted utility boxes, a 300-gallon water tank, Hale foam system, Mercedes textile pump, 300 feet of 1.5-inch hose, 300 feet of 1-inch hose, fire tools and appliances to suppress wildland fires.
Each truck will be staffed with two firefighters and an engine boss, trained and selected from among the 60 Utah National Guard Soldiers, who are currently red-card certified to fight wildland fires.
"This new addition will provide our firefighters with greater capability, greater range and more modern equipment," said Col. Robert Dunton, commander of Camp Williams. "The new trucks will replace brush trucks that have been in use since the 1970s. We now meet the same basic standard of equipment for any fire department that fights wildland fires."
"We're no longer using duct tape and bailing wire to keep a truck current," he said. "This is our first step forward for getting Camp Williams a better capability to fight a fire."