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New truck for Garibaldi Fire Department

The Garibaldi Volunteer Fire Department has taken possession of a new fire truck for a "bargain" price.

Volunteer Chief Nelson Bastien, and other members of the department, got a quality used truck from a station on Vancouver Island for $65,000 – $95,000 less than what the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District had budgeted for.

"We spent $65,000 on the truck and we’ve also put around $10,000 into it for repairs and things like radios and headsets," said Bastien.

The SLRD had budgeted up to $160,000 for a new truck. Taxpayers in Black Tusk and Pinecrest Village will reap the savings.

Without a new truck taxpayers were also facing a hike in insurance premiums.

The new fire truck has a much bigger water tank and is powered by a Ford 460 automatic engine, which means it has a lot more power and is easy to drive. The new truck is not equipped with air brakes either, so none of the volunteer firefighters need a special licence to drive it.

"We’ve also bought a generator so if we have to go out on a night rescue then we won’t be working in the dark the whole time."