Fort McPherson (Dec 22/03) - The Fort McPherson Fire Department has a bright new pumper truck parked in their garage.

The red and chrome $220,000 truck rolled into town Dec. 8 from Winnipeg where it was custom accessorised for Fort McPherson by Fort Garry Industries.

"After 20 years we get to retire the old fire truck," said volunteer firefighter Brian Alexie, who was trained on the new truck after its arrival.

"With the new fire truck we can carry a lot more people inside and keep the guys warm during the winter fires."

He said one of the biggest bonuses will be the start up time. Even though the old truck was in a garage, it took at least one minute to warm up before firefighters could drive out to the fire.

"A minute in fire fighting is a long time," said Alexie.

"We're getting a more reliable truck with the new one."

The pumper replacement was part of an ongoing program in the NWT, said Claude Gervais, assistant fire marshal for the Beaufort/Delta region.

Every 20 years all fire department vehicles are re-certified by the manufacturer to ensure they are up to snuff.

Fort McPherson's old pumper was built in 1983 but didn't meet the needs of the community any more, said Gervais.

The old front-end water pumping equipment sometimes froze up because it was exposed to the weather and the truck cabin only seated three people so the rest of the crew had to hang off the back, said Gervais.

New truck, new recruits

The new pumper has a larger cabin, a water canon and holds 900 gallons of water.

Holman will be the next community to get a new truck. Tenders are out now and the truck is expected to arrive in Holman on the barge next summer, said Gervais.

"I'm hoping with the new equipment we'll get more guys out and women too," said Alexie.

The fire department presently has five active members and two recent recruits.

The department fights an average of one fire a year.