Big Mountain Fire Department trains with new truck

Firefighters with the Big Mountain Fire Department recently received training on a new, recently delivered fire truck.  

The 2017 truck is an HME Quint HAF51 Fire Truck with a 51 foot rescue ladder and an elevated stream with a pumping capacity of 1,500 gallons per minutes that was modified to the department’s specifications.  

The compact size of the truck makes it very valuable for a district with the Big Mountain topography, according to a release from the department, and it will enable the department to handle taller structure fires that require a ladder and higher capacity pumping to extinguish fires.

Dave Rider from HME/Ahrens Fox conducted the training session

The cost of the truck was $526,000. The truck purchase by the Big Mountain Firefighters Association was made possible by a gift from Mark and Robyn Jones of Westlake, Texas.  The Joneses are new to Whitefish and wanted to make sure the local first responders had the necessary tools to carry out their important work.   

“I am and continue to be amazed by the support we receive from our small community,” Chief Ben Devall said. “This engine is an incredible asset to our district and increases our firefighter’s ability to do their job more safely.”

Big Mountain Firefighters Association has been raising funds for almost 20 years to purchase a variety of necessary equipment for the fire department, including a better equipped fire truck. Other donors also contributed to help in the purchase of safety equipment that will be used on the truck, including the Lion Mountain VFW Post 276, Paul and Wendy Faganel and many other homeowners on Big Mountain.

The Whitefish Community Foundation was instrumental in facilitating the Joneses donation for the truck, the department notes.

In addition, Gary Mahugh of Mahugh Fire & Safety provided assistance in procuring the truck.