Overton Fire Station Gets New Engine

The Overton Fire Station #74, received a new fire engine last Thursday, May 15. This welcome addition to the Moapa Fire District arsenal is a big improvement on the station’s previous truck. The volunteers were extremely excited to have new wheels.

Getting a new fire truck is not at all as easy as getting a new car. “We’ve been trying to get a new truck for more than two years,” said Chief Matt Nelson. “We actually started trying to get

Volunteer firefighters at Overton Station #74 get a first look at a new fire engine that was delivered to the station last week.

It took the district quite a while to find a truck that was in the district’s price range. “A new fire truck usually costs about $500,000,” said Clark County Fire Department Rural Coordinator, Kurt Leavitt. “We were able to find this one for about $320,000. It was used as a demonstration truck, and so it isn’t quite brand new, but it’s a great truck and a big improvement on the old truck.”

The old truck reached it’s twentieth anniversary in the community this year. It was made in 1988, and was the oldest fire truck in the county. While it has always gotten the job done, several volunteer who stood admiring their new truck were excited about the improvements.

“This truck has a bigger pump, an automatic foam feature, and more jump seats,” said Matt Nelson. “It is enclosed, which will make it much more comfortable for us as we respond to calls.”

Kurt Leavitt explained that the truck has five seats for fire fighters with air packs, more than 2,000 feet of various hoses, and it can carry 1,000 gallons of water and 20 gallons of foam. This truck also has the ability to draft water from sources like pools and rivers, instead of requiring a fire hydrant, in case of emergency.

The next question on many of the fire fighter’s minds was the future of the old truck. In the past the County has sometimes given the Moapa Fire district’s old trucks to other rural fire districts who can’t afford their own truck.

“Usually when a station gets a new truck they sell the old truck, or donate it to a small station,” explained Leavitt. “The rural stations usually have the older trucks.”

When asked whether the district got to keep the money they earned by selling their old truck he said, “Yes, stations usually send their old truck to an auction, and they keep the money from the sale. Usually the districts get to decide what they do with the truck.”

The Overton station has announced that they will be keeping their old truck.

“Even the other rural stations have newer trucks than ours, so there is no point in trying to donate it to someone else, and so we’d like to keep our truck here,” said Matt Nelson. “In this case they will be keeping it as a kind of souvenir,” said Kurt Leavitt with a smile.

The volunteers spent some time last week moving all of their equipment into the new truck, and learning the ins and outs of the new technology.

“They will have to put their equipment in it,” said Leavitt, “but I made sure everything else was installed before I brought it out from Vegas.”

Next time the sirens start blaring be sure to watch for the brand new yellow truck coming out of the Overton Fire Station.