Firefighting on a Smaller Scale
Members of the Moreno Valley Fire Department met with representatives of the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company Friday, April 28, 2005, at the Val Verde Fire Station to formally accept a new Polaris ATV. The ATV was the result of a grant award to the fire department in 2005, in which U.S. Smokeless Tobacco awarded 73 new ATVs to emergency response agencies throughout the United States. Three ATVs went to agencies in New Mexico, according to Raymond Valdez, a Smokeless Tobacco representative from Albuquerque.
When the Polaris arrived in Angel Fire, it was just the basic vehicle equipped with a small winch. District 6 Firefighters went to work to equip the small vehicle with a 70 gallon water tank and pump, capable of pumping water or Class A foam. They also outfitted the ATV with all the necessary equipment for two firefighters to work a small wildland fire. “I wanted this vehicle to be capable of working on its own, without assistance”, according to Chief Coss of the County Fire Department.
Funding for equipping this vehicle came mostly from local donations, which is the source for most of the funds used for local wildland firefighting, according to Coss.