Fire Department Pleased With Addition

The Wolf Point Volunteer Fire Department used its fund-raising breakfast on Saturday, June 1, as an opportunity to showcase a big new addition to help their efforts when emergencies occur.

The fire department now possesses a 1995 Mack CH600 13-speed vehicle for its use, especially for larger fires. The truck carries 4,000 gallons of non-potable water.

Three local firefighters transported the truck from Easton, Wash. Because Easton doesn’t have a large coverage area and is located around mountains, the vehicle made only two or three calls during the last 10 years. Since obtaining the vehicle last fall, Wolf Point has utilized the truck on about 20-30 calls.

“If it’s a big fire, this truck will be going,” fire chief Clint Bushman said.

Cost of the purchase was $40,000. The department used $25,000 from the county replacement fund and $15,000 from its own budget to make the purchase possible.

A smaller fire department in the county has expressed some interest in purchasing Wolf Point’s old truck.

“It was definitely a well-needed upgrade,” Bushman said. “Our old truck was tired and parts were getting hard to find.”

The old truck was in-house built during the early 1990s. “It definitely sad to see it go,” Bushman said. “It will definitely be missed.”

Wolf Point’s fire department now features eight county rigs, two city rigs and a satellite truck.

The breakfast on Saturday helped the department raise funds for its firemen’s ball held in October along with paying for some tool needs.

The breakfast was fairly well attended with residents enjoying the meal of pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs and beverages.