MV Fire District Acquires New Wildland Fire Vehicles

By GWENDOLYN WEILER

Moapa Valley Progress

A two-year wait to finally came to an end last week when two brand new trucks were delivered to local volunteer fire stations. The apparatuses, called brush trucks, were customized to specific requests made by the Moapa Valley Fire District board. Each truck even included a new logo designed earlier this year for all Moapa Valley Fire District vehicles.

Brush trucks are specifically designed for wildland deployment. These trucks are equipped to move through wild desert and brushlands to get to wildfires more easily than the standard fire trucks can.
“Not all brush fires are just there right off the road,” said Overton Fire Station #74 Chief Steve Neel. “Now, we will be able to drive right in (to where the fire is) instead of hiking in a crew.”

In the past the standard trucks would move in as close as possible to the fire, Neel said. Then a crew would need to hike their equipment in the rest of the way, including a heavy hose, to fight the fire. This was a difficult process for several reasons, including the fact that the local terrain is often rugged and likely to create mud along the way, Neel said.

With the new vehicles, one person will be able to fight the fire from the seat of the truck. This will increase the safety of the crew while also creating more efficiency in putting out the flames, Neel said.
“Before, we had the squad vehicles where we could only go so far,” said Captain Alex Arager. “We can go further now. Instead of the fire spreading, we can knock it out when it’s smaller instead of going bigger.”

Neel said the station first made the request for the trucks two years ago in an effort to continue to improve its capabilities. The process of requesting and acquiring the equipment was so long because there are a lot of phases between making the request and making it a reality, Neel said.

The request had to be made to Clark County Fire Department who handles the Moapa Valley Fire District finances. Once it was granted, the station then had to spec out the details of the apparatuses, collect bids, award the project to the lowest bidder (in this case, Firetrucks Unlimited in Henderson), then wait for the trucks to be built.

The new logo being used on both vehicles was a special touch in the design. In the past, all of the district’s vehicles, equipment and uniforms have sported the Clark County Fire Department logo. The new logo is specific to the Moapa Valley Fire District.
“We’re getting back to our roots of who we are and who we represent,” Neel said. “As volunteers, we take a lot of pride in our community.”

The new logo was created in January of this year, Neel said. At that time, the district board agreed to let the local volunteers create matching t-shirts with a new logo for the crew members, who were previously wearing shirts that didn’t match.

Neel came up with the design of the logo. He shared it with his team for feedback, then made revisions based on that feedback.
“We all took a part in designing this logo, and we take a lot of pride in that,” Neel said.