Abiquiu Fire on Scene - New Tender

In high desert rural communities fire departments worry about water.  So, let’s talk about water.  How much water do you need to put out a house fire?  The long answer begins with “It depends” followed by a stream of qualifications, specifications, and calculations.  The short answer is “A lot.”  A fully engulfed structure fire might require 30,000 gallons of water to extinguish.  And where does that water come from.  In places such as Albuquerque or Roswell, where there are fire hydrants every 500 feet or so along the streets, the water is effectively already on the scene when firefighters arrive.  In places such as Abiquiu, which lack community water systems and street hydrants, every drop of water used at a fire must be transported to that fire.  And it has to get there right away.  This is not a small problem.

The Abiquiu Volunteer Fire Department is now better prepared to address that problem.  This past autumn it took delivery of a new “tender,” a fire apparatus designed specifically to move water to fire scenes.  Built by E-One, a major manufacturer of fire vehicles, the new truck can carry 2,000 gallons of water and quickly dispense that water with its 750 gallons per minute pump.  With the new tender joining its fleet of trucks, Abiquiu Fire now has 7000 gallons of water “on wheels” and the capacity to sustain a water supply by means of a “water shuttle” of trucks moving between the fire scene and the underground water storage tanks at the Abiquiu and Medanales stations.  In addition to significantly improving the department’s ability to fight fires, the increased water capacity may also improve Abiquiu’s Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating which may reduce homeowners’ premiums for fire insurance.
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Fire trucks are alarmingly expensive, often costing more than many homes.  This new tender checked out at $430,000, a price that was covered by a $300,000 grant from the state fire marshal and $130,000 saved by the department over several years from its operating budget.  It’s money well spent.