News Brush 1 joins the TEVFD fleet

Brush 1 joins the TEVFD at Station 1. This project started last year with the naming of Asst. Chief Kyle Durham and Lt. Ryan Ellis as the project managers. The purchase of the vehicle from Chandler Chevrolet was done at close out of the 2013 production. A special thank you to Bill Woodhouse for working with us. Project design was delayed with the closure of Slagle Fire Apparatus, however Barry Slagle continued to work with us to consult on production at no cost. John Oates, a fabricator and fleet mechanic that volunteers at a local fire department agreed to work with us to complete the project. The skid design of 7" aluminum channel and sheeting with an added UPF 250 gal tank make up the base. A 20hp B&S engine and Hale pump bring it to life through a custom manifold. A racing fuel cell provides 12 gallons of gasoline through an electric pump for longer operations. A Hanley reel with 200' of rubber forrestry line is ready to deploy with electric rewind. An electric valve system allows water to be distributed to the from bumper spray nozzles at 7gpm each, all from the comfort of the cab. LED sene lighting can be deployed from both sides with 360° rotation while protected by the headache rack when not in use. Aluminum slide out trays in the base allow for hose and tool storage, while the added side boxes do the same for chain saws, adapters, and back pack tanks. A removable 9000 Lb WARN winch can be mounted either in front or rear of the truck with a quick connect pin in the hitch. A full LED lighting package gives 360° of visibility, including an InnerEdge system to reduce light at damage while in the woods. The volunteer labor of the TEVFD members during this project allowed us to save funds and truly understand the working of the truck for future maintenance. Thank you to the Ladies Auxillary for the gift of the WARN winch. Brush 1 will the be topic of training next week and will be ready to roll after that. Thank you for everyone's patience during this build. Total project was 10 months and less than $60k total.