Lobo FD orderers new truck
Firefighting vehicle will cost more than $270,000

By Jim Maniaci
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — A new specialized fire truck costing more than one-quarter of a million dollars was ordered the day after Christmas by the Lobo Canyon Volunteer Fire Department.

The new rig's total price is $273,703, according to Chief Blue Siebert. He said a Homeland Security Department grant was obtained through the state. HSD will provide $195,700 of the cost, with the local department providing $10,300. The department will borrow the $67,703 balance from the state's financing authority.

Siebert indicated he could have obtained a rig for less than $200,000, but it wouldn't provide Cibola County with everything the new truck will.

In addition to a 1,000 gallons per minute pumping capacity, the new truck will have a 3,500-gallon capacity tank.

There is no other truck like it in Cibola County, he said. Firefighters will be able to use it to hose down people needing decontamination from hazardous materials.

Another advantage will be slightly lower insurance rates with the district's ISO classification improving to 8-B, he indicated. With the lower rates, the small volunteer department will be able to increase its budget by $14,000 a year, he added.

As part of the deal, the department would be reimbursed by the state when the rig is taken anywhere in New Mexico as part of the state forestry mutual aid program, Siebert said.

Siebert and county disaster officials have worked for several years to get the truck, having to apply several times for the Homeland Security Department allocation.

The department serves the forested area north of Grants along State Hwy. 547, going up toward Mount Taylor. It is one of about a dozen rural volunteer departments in the county.

To contact reporter Jim Maniaci in Grants, telephone 285-6184 or (505) 870-7775 (cellular).