A new Type 1 fire engine is headed Templeton's way after receiving $1 million in federal funding secured by U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Monterey) to replace the district's more than 20-year-old engine.

"It's going to be a valuable asset that benefits the community for years and years," Templeton Community Services District (CSD) General Manager Jeff Briltz said.

• Photo Courtesy Of Templeton CSD
• START YOUR ENGINE Templeton purchased a new Type 1 fire engine thanks to a federal grant, replacing the district's current 22-year-old engine.

The Templeton CSD board of directors approved the engine's purchase at its Aug. 1 meeting. The CSD will pay $1 million up front and be reimbursed by the federal government once the engine arrives within the next two to three years.

Briltz said the grant will cover up to 75 percent of costs for the new engine. The district anticipates the entire purchase of the engine and all accompanying tools to be about $1.3 million.

This engine is the result of a years-long effort. The Templeton CSD has applied for federal funding for three years to replace its current engine—a 2002 Type 1 engine bought from Paso Robles nine years ago, Briltz said.

While the engine works fine most of the time, he said, the district has had to replace the transmission, and the truck has had numerous issues with plumbing and valves.

"There's some higher costs associated with maintaining the engine that go up over time," he explained.

However, the district's primary concern was not the cost of maintaining the vehicle but ensuring public safety. The $1 million grant not only secures a new, more reliable engine, but leaves the district with a backup engine if needed.

"[Fire engines] need tire changes and oil changes, and when that happens, it can't respond to a call," Briltz explained. "So, when the new engine needs that kind of downtime, we will have that current engine available. But right now, we don't have a second so we're really, really concerned about these instances when the engines are down for repair."

Right now, if the district's only Type 1 engine is down for maintenance, the Fire Department must use its other Type 3 engine, which is intended for wildfires. According to Briltz, these types of trucks do not provide all the tools needed for urban responses.

"It's a wildland fire engine," he said. "So, while it has water and a pump and many of the same Type 1 engine carries, it's not designed to do the same job particularly for things like structure fires; it's not nearly as well equipped."

Briltz said that while the department does its best to schedule maintenance and borrow trucks from other local agencies, emergencies are unpredictable.

Supplying the right tools for the truck adds about $250,000 to the engine's initial $1 million cost. Those tools includes an air filtering system for firefighters entering burning structures, hoses, nozzles, and Jaws of Life saws.

"The fire engine is like a large, rolling toolbox," Briltz said. "So having all these tools is what makes it effective."

According to Briltz, the district ordered the engine the week of Aug. 1, and it is expected to arrive within 28 to 31 months.

"I think that engine is going to come and serve the community for a really long time," he said. Δ