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Video: Take a tour of Oak Bay’s newest fire vehicle

Mayor Nils Jensen, is pleased with the new Battalion 1 truck at Oak Bay Fire Department
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Darren Hughes, Deputy Chief, Oak Bay Fire Department explains the newest truck to Mayor Nils Jensen during a tour today. (Christine van Reeuwyk/Oak Bay News)

Within budget and a vast improvement, Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen, is pleased with the new Battalion 1 truck at Oak Bay Fire Department after getting an up close look Aug. 8.

Jensen is equally pleased Oak Bay “saved up” for the new new command/light rescue vehicle. The fire department knew likely when they would need to replace the extended cab pickup that performed the task previously and the funds were all there in the capital reserve replacement fund.

Oak Bay fire and municipal staff worked with InterContinental Truck to create a vehicle specific to local needs. The new Battalion One that arrived late last month is a commercial Isuzu chassis with 14-foot aluminum welded box that will carry more equipment.

“It’s good that the company was so flexible and they could cater to our specific needs,” Jensen said.

“It was a consultative process and constant,” agreed deputy fire chief Darren Hughes.

This one has the ease of access, longer life span and boosts the capacity well beyond the old pickup, Hughes said. “If one of our trucks with all the capacity for these tools was down we had a hard time being able to get everything to the scene and be at the ready all the time.”

Among the bells and whistles, or lights and sirens, is the command centre that offers flat surface with cover protection from the elements.

“It makes the command section waterproof,” Hughes said, gesturing the rubber seals of the command centre. “[The cover] keeps the sun off you … before we were on the hood of that truck in the wind, rain.”


 

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Christine van Reeuwyk

About the Author: Christine van Reeuwyk

I'm dedicated to serving the community of Oak Bay as a senior journalist with the Greater Victoria news team.
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