Hagaman Fire awarded $640,000 to fund new tanker

“We’ve got to truck in all our water for scenes,” Hagaman Fire Chief Eric Sandy said Friday.

Fire response and evacuations

That will be easier when the department buys a new tanker with the help of a $640,000 Assistance to Firefighters Grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“This funding is a tremendous investment in the safety of our firefighters and the residents of Hagaman and the surrounding communities and I commend the department’s leadership and volunteers for their dedication and hard work in securing this important grant,” Hagaman Mayor Robin Ricci said in a statement.

Sandy said the department is obtaining price quotes with the goal of signing a contract by the end of the year.

It could take up to two years after that for the new apparatus to be delivered.

Hagaman plans to buy a 3,000-gallon tanker with a 1,250 gallon-per-minute pump.

It will replace the agency’s 2,250-gallon tanker with a 500 gallon-per-minute pump.

The added capacity will aid public safety and may slightly reduce the amount of mutual aid Hagaman calls in to supply water to fight fires.