By Teri Figueroa
The San Diego Union-Tribune
SAN DIEGO — Four rural fire stations in San Diego County now have quick-attack fire trucks to help them fight brush fires, officials announced Tuesday.
The nimble new trucks — smaller and faster than traditional fire engines — will be based at county fire stations in De Luz, Palomar Mountain, Shelter Valley and Jacumba.
The trucks, also called “patrols,” can carry up to 200 gallons of water and 10 gallons of fire-resistant gel or foam. Traditional Type-A fire engines hold the same amount of gel, but carry up to 500 gallons of water.
The smaller vehicles, which have a cab like a large pickup, will be part of the first-response units at volunteer or reserve stations, Cal Fire San Diego Unit and County Fire Chief Tony Mecham said in a statement.
“For the rural backcountry, they are more suitable than a fire engine,” said Mecham. “They are simple to operate, very quick and maneuverable and allow our reserves to get to the scene quickly.
Another benefit, he said, is that the vehicles can remain on scene while crews mop up after a fire, allowing the larger engines to get back into service.
The smaller Type-6 trucks, custom-built for San Diego County, cost nearly $260,000 apiece, roughly half the cost of the full-size engines. The county’s general fund will pay for two of the new trucks, and federal grant money will cover the other two.
When not dispatched to wildfires, the new vehicles — which carry the same lifesaving equipment as the larger trucks — will stay busy on everyday calls including traffic collisions, medical aid and building fires.
The quick-attack trucks are relatively new to County Fire’s fleet. The agency bought five of them last year and based them out of the stations in Potrero, Boulevard, Ranchita, Sunshine Summit, and Intermountain (near Ramona).
The federal money comes from Community Development Block Grants, and the qualifying projects the money covers includes firefighting equipment in low- to moderate-income areas.
Aside from the new trucks, since 2005 the county has used the federal block grants to buy 16 fire engines, 13 water tenders, self-contained breathing apparatus, radios and other miscellaneous equipment for rural stations.
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