For the past several years the WVFC has been searching for a used tanker to replace our 1989 International/4-Guys tanker, one of the oldest tankers in Berks County. While this tanker has treated us well for being 36 years old, some maintenance issues have been coming to light and we wanted to get ahead of any future issues, as well as upgrade to a tanker with an automatic transmission and some other improved features. The recommended replacement age for this type of apparatus is 25 years old.

Our needs and specifications for a replacement were specific to our area to include experiences with specific chassis manufacturers, smaller lanes, driving in fields and keeping the tanker small enough to access next to railroad tracks. Tankers with our specs are very hard to come by and when they do become available, they usually don’t last long in the used fire apparatus market.

With the assistance of a fire apparatus broker, he found a tanker meeting our specs up for auction and in early January, four of our members traveled to Fairfax County, Virginia to look at this unit where it had been recently taken out of service. These members found the tanker as a suitable replacement and with the officers’ recommendation, the findings were presented to our membership and after discussion approved a maximum bid. On February 3, the WVFC was successful in having the highest bid at the end of the auction.

The tanker is a 2007 Mack/Pierce equipped with a 1000 gallon-per-minute pump and a 3000 water gallon tank. The truck has an automatic transmission and has improved side dump capabilities. Some other features include a booster reel, 2- 1 3/4” crosslays, a front bumper trash line, and a hydraulic portable tank storage rack as well as on-spot chains. If needed, the tanker can function as a fire suppression piece with the increased pump capacity as our current tanker has a basic 500gpm PTO pump and carries 2500 gallons of water.

The tanker will head to a local body shop where some minor corrosion will be repaired before it gets lettering and striping done to match our other apparatus. With future grant funding next year, some equipment upgrades will take place and lighting will be upgraded to LED.
The total purchase price is $216,000. If we had to replace this unit with a similar new apparatus, we would be looking at a cost at a minimum of $600-$750,000.

In the coming months, members will be performing driver training and equipment mounting will be taking place. We expect the new tanker to be placed in service by April 2025. Once the new tanker is placed in service, the 1989 International will be sold and the proceeds used for upgrades to the new tanker.

Again by choosing to purchase a used apparatus, the WVFC will be saving our residents and municipalities a significant amount of money. It should be noted this purchase was again made using funds from our online Facebook raffles, fund drive mailers and donations, and the WVFC still remains debt free, being good stewards of the funding we receive from our residents and local municipalities.