Squad 1 was Silver City's third operational truck, placed into service in early 1997. It had a 600-gallon tank and a 90 GPM high pressure pump.With a slant-six and a 7:22 final drive, it didn't move very fast. On one notable fire run, this truck was barrelling down Highway 51 flat out at its top speed of 55MPH with lights and siren, with 14 cars backed up behind it.
EXACTLY 14 cars. We counted them.
Judging from lettering and plates we found at various locations on the truck, we deduce that we were the fifth agency to use this truck, the first four being:
1. Tinker Air Force Base
2. City of Chandler, Oklahoma
3. Merrick Fire Department
4. Skedee Fire Department
We assume that each of the afore-mentioned agencies rejected this truck at some point in the past, having replaced it with something newer or more suitable.
And inevitably, although it served us well for two years, Silver City replaced it in March, 1999 with 302, which has rough-terrain capability. Squad 1 has since been transferred to yet another rural fire department, North Lincoln County VFD. We hope it will serve them well. I'm featuring Squad 1 so that the uninitiated can follow the progress of a penniless rural fire department.
||| 101 ||| 201 ||| 202 ||| 301 ||| ||| 302 ||| 401 ||| 501 ||| 502 ||| ||| Brush 1 ||| Squad 1|||
