Ready for action

Texas Forest Service to purchase a 2026 Freightliner fire tender with a 2,000-gallon tank in a ‘pump and roll’ configuration that allows the vehicle to transport water in support of firefighting services at remote locations, serve as a moving fire truck under its own power with a 1,000 gallon-per-minute fire hose pump, and connect to fire hydrants as a standing pumper truck. Cotulla VFD Chief Johnny Gomez has applied for funding from state and federal agencies for at least 15 years to help upgrade the community’s firefighting fleet and was given confirmation of the grant late last year. The Cotulla VFD now maintains five vehicles, although several are over 20 years old. In addition to the new tanker truck, the VFD fleet includes a 1997 fire engine, a 1997 brush truck, a 2003 fire tender with a 2,000-gallon tank from the Texas Forest Service, and a 2006 truck that the VFD members built themselves. The department also has a 2,000-gallon portable tank that can be transported to emergency scenes as a water reserve and refilled on demand, and a vintage fire truck that VFD members use in local parades.
(CURRENT Photo: Marc Robertson)