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The first engine for the department is believed to be a hand-me-down from Madera County. |
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In late 1935, Chowchilla purchased its first new fire engine (Engine 2), which was delivered in April 1936. It was a Van-Pelt mounted on a 1 1/2 ton 1936 Ford truck chassis. It had a 500 gallon-per-minute pump with a 200 gallon water tank and a booster pump. This pumper is still in service today as a reserve engine for the department and is used for parades and special events. |
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The City purchased another 1000 gallon-per-minute pumper in late 1968 (Engine 4); it was a Ford-Howe 1000 gallon-per-minute pumper at a cost of approximately $35,000. |
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In 1985, the volunteer firemen in cooperation with the City, purchased a used 1981 squad truck. |
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Next, the volunteer firemen bought a 1968 Ford-Howe (Engine 5) 750 gallon-per-minute pumper for $12,000 from Yolo County and donated it to the City in 1985. |
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After the City created a paid
position for the Fire Chief, |
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Purchased by the City in 1991, the department acquired a 1992 International KME (Engine 6), 1250 gallon-per-minute pumper at a cost of $123,000. |
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Our newest engine, a 2005 International Chassis (Engine 7) with a Hi-Tech 1500 gallon-per-minute pumper body, was purchased by the City and partially funded from the sale of a vacant lot generously donated by the McCombs family. The cost of this engine was $221,000. |
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The City has recently acquired a used 4,000 gallon water tender truck to add to the fleet. The purchase was funded by Public Works and Fire Impact fees. Painting supplies and incidentals were paid for by a donation in the amount of $5,000 from the McCombs family. This truck is currently being painted courtesy of Central California Women's Facility. |
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Our department was recently awarded a $70,000 grant from Chukchansi to be applied towards the purchase of a mini-pumper to be used primarily for medical assist and wildland fire calls. The use of the mini-pumper will help reduce the number of miles on our full-size engines. The mini-pumper is expected to be in service this summer. |
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With all the growth Chowchilla is experiencing, the department is also looking into adding a 100' ladder truck to the fleet. Funding options and maintenance methods are currently being evaluated for this addition. |
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