New fire truck arrives in Posen

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

On Nov. 9, Posen Fire Area & Rescue welcomed a new member to the force. A new tanker truck, built by Pierce Manufacturing in Bradenton, Florida, arrived to a full fire hall of volunteer firefighters, anxious for its arrival. Captain Terry Buczkowski and Dennis Budnick drove the 2010 International more than 1,400 miles from Florida, to bring it to its new home. The men equipped it, filled it with water, and had it in service within a couple of hours. A classified ad for the under-performing ?74 tanker was placed the next morning and put to pasture. Not literally — it?s sitting behind the fire hall until a buyer is found.

THE NEW truck cost nearly $209,000, though most of it was paid for through a $190,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Buczkowski. The remaining balance will come from the Posen Area Fire Authority budget, which now gets it support from a voter-approved millage. Voters in all four townships in the authority supported the request.

The truck comes with all the bells and whistles, as well as new requirements set forth by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). It has Chevron reflective striping covering every inch of the back, along with a swivel chute. The chute is used to quickly fill a drop tank. Tanker chutes are not new, but Posen?s swivel chute may be the first of its kind in Michigan. The swivel chutes is located at the back of the tanker and can extend away from the back and pivot to either side, another new requirement implemented by the NFPA at the beginning of 2009.

?NFPA requires you be able to dump the water from the back and from each side of the truck,? said Buczkowski. Having the chute installed in Wixom on the five-day trip from Florida saved money. It would have cost more if Pi

erce had done the work. ANOTHER NFPA requirement is the rollover protection and a black box. If the driver takes a curve too fast, a sensor automatically slows the truck down. The tanker also is equipped with a governor, allowing it to travel no faster than 62 miles per hours, but that?s loaded or empty. The ?74 truck would hit top speeds of 50 mph, but only if it was empty and going down hill, said Buczkowski. Even with some speed restrictions, the captain believes response times will only improve. It has a 33-horse-power motor, pumps 750 gallons per minute and has a holding tank with a 2,000-gallon capacity.

?Its intended use is to haul water to a fire scene,? said Buczkowski. ?If something were to happen with the main truck, we?ll be able to rely on this truck to pump water.? This was part one of the fun for firefighters, as truck No. 2 is being built in Snider, Nebraska and will be ready after the first of the year. Posen Area Fire & Rescue, at 101 years, is serving residents of Krakow, Pulawski, Metz and Posen Township.