Tanker truck means lower insurance rates

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This article was published 25/01/2021 (2019 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Firefighters at Station 23 at the south end of Pembina Highway have received certification to enable them to bring water to fires in areas that don’t have hydrant service, which also has the benefit of dropping home insurance rates.

Scott Wilkinson, the project manager of training and safety equipment with the Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service, said the Dalhousie Drive fire station is now accredited in the use of a tanker truck as an alternate source of water.

“We’ve had tankers in the past, but this takes it to another level,” he said, adding tanker trucks are used in any area which doesn’t have a water source, such as putting out grass fires in fields.

The “Superior Tanker Shuttle Service” accreditation by the Fire Underwriters Survey — a national organization — also was received by Station 26, located at 1525 Dakota St. in south St. Vital.

The area covered by the tanker service is within eight kilometers of Stations 23 and 26, Wilkinson said. This covers the southern end of St. Norbert, and further east as far as Highway 59.

“We set up portable tanks at the scene, and the tankers fill those, and then shuttle more water for use by the pumper trucks,” Wilkinson said.

Fire engine trucks can hold between 16,000 and 32,000 litres of water. The additional 13,000 litres provided by a tanker truck allows for enough water initially on the scene of a fire, he said.

“The tanker truck can then be driven back to the nearest fire hydrant, refilled, and be brought back to the scene,” Wilkinson said.

Coun. Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River) said the presence of the tanker trucks and the certification in their use is already making a big difference for neighbourhoods that don’t have water and sewer service.

“Now that there is a tanker truck at the Pembina Highway station, that will allow homeowners to negotiate a drop in their home insurance policy rates,” Chambers said, adding the firefighting response time to locations such as south St. Norbert is in the 13- to 17-minute range.