“The Beast” is now on the road.
The Sasamat Volunteer Fire Department’s new fire truck was officially “pushed in” or launched in Belcarra yesterday, March 10, to serve the village, as well as Anmore.
Engine 3, better known by firefighters as “The Beast,” replaces the original Engine 3, a 1996 GMC pumper truck, and joins two other firefighting apparatus in the villages: Engine 1 and Ladder 7.
Built by HUB Fire Engines in Abbotsford, the new fire truck cost $599,500 — “a bargain for taxpayers,” said Miranda Venos, a Sasamat firefighter and the vice president of the Sasamat Volunteer Firefighters Association.
That’s because it has a commercial 2022 International four-wheel drive chassis, not a custom chassis, which translates to a cost savings of $200,000, she said.
Measuring 31 ft. long and 11 ft. high, the new truck can carry five fighters while its tank can hold 800 imperial gallons of water (versus 300 for most municipal fire engines).
It also has a pumping capacity of 1,750 imperial gallons per minute.
“The engine was built to meet all current regulatory standards,” Venos said in a release sent to the Tri-City News.
“This means that it has more features to keep firefighters safe. It also means that the mechanical features make it very fuel efficient with much lower exhaust emissions than our older Engine 3.”
Venos said the four-wheel drive feature also allows crews to get to emergencies in the semi-rural communities when the weather is poor or when the truck is on unpaved roads like up to Farrer Cove or the BC Hydro roads around Buntzen Lake.
Venos said firefighters have been learning about the new engine since it was delivered last December.
The fire truck will be stationed at the Belcarra fire hall.
Started in 1977, the 65-member Sasamat Volunteer Fire Department responds to about 100 calls a year from medical and motor vehicle assistance to fire suppression.
It is currently led by Chief Jay Sharpe.
