After nearly a two-year wait, the Wildwood Volunteer Fire Department has recently acquired a new Fire Engine.
Cariboo Regional District Area D Director Steve Forseth said the department took ownership of its latest apparatus just before the Williams Lake Stampede Parade.
“This is part of a process that the Regional District had started back in 2018. Instead of individual Fire Departments acquiring equipment, the previous board agreed that we would enter into a long-term contract with Fort Garry Industries out of Winnipeg,” Forseth said, “to deliver a number of apparatuses that we need to replace because a lot of them were timing out with the 14 Volunteer Fire Departments in the Regional District.”
He added as part of this contract exercise, in 2023 it is currently expected that the last fire apparatus slated for the CRD’s 14 Volunteer Fire Departments will be delivered to the Forest Grove Fire Volunteer Department.
Forseth said back in the fall of 2020 because of Provincial Legislation, the Board agreed to take out 10-year loans to acquire new fire apparatus for the Cariboo’s 14 Volunteer Fire Departments.
He said they needed to get voter assent and choose the alternative approval process because it was the least expensive to go through
“And it would be anticipated that very few people would object to this line of action and that certainly was my experience in my Area,” Forseth said, “At the end of the day no voter registered a negative form with the Regional District and that’s been the case in every other circumstance with these purchases in the Region District.”
Forseth noted in talking with community members in Wildwood that they are very happy to see this new piece of equipment which is obviously very critical to the Fire Department.