FOLSOM, W.Va. (WBOY) — Folsom Fire Department held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday to honor the official operation service of its newest heavy rescue fire truck.
Obtaining the truck was possible thanks to the Assistance Fire Fighter Grant program, which paid for about $620,000 of the truck itself, leaving Folsom Fire Department to cover the remaining $35,000 needed.
The truck was requested back in the middle of September last year and was received by the fire department around June 1. Since then, the Folsom Fire Department had been collecting the equipment needed to make this truck as adaptable as possible, and as of July 16, the truck is ready to be put to service.
The heavy rescue fire truck is said to have a complete set of integrated hydraulic technology (IHT) on both sides as well as capabilities to function through trench rescue and confined space work, or as Folsom Fire Department Chief Jimmy Glasscock said, “any kind of specialized rescue capabilities.”
12 News spoke with Chief Glasscock about why he felt the new addition of this truck would better fit the needs of the community.
Glasscock said, “with a lot of the oil and gas production we have around here, we have a lot of big truck accidents and things that we were never able to handle appropriately before. With this apparatus in service, now we’ll be able to take care of those a lot quicker and a lot safer, for not only the drivers and the families that are there, but also our firefighters here that are out doing the work themselves.”
The Folsom Fire Department has 26 members within its services, and although they are still waiting to hear back on a few more grants, the addition of the new fire truck promises to bring plenty of help to the Folsom community.