The Winnemucca District Division of Fire and Aviation announced one of its wildland fire engines will be transferred to the Pueblo-Denio Volunteer Fire Department.
According to a March 24 news release by the Bureau of Land Management, Engine 2432 completed its federal service and will go to Pueblo-Denio thanks to the Rural Fire Readiness program. The program is designed to help firefighting partners with cost-free firefighting recycled firefighting equipment.
"The RFR Program continues to support the agency's mission to fire management and strengthening the relationships with our local cooperators by improving our collective capabilities to respond to wildland fires," Winnemucca District Manager Sam Burton said in the release.
The Pueblo-Denio VFD applied to receive the engine during the offseason of 2019-20, according to the release.
The Rural Fire Readiness program is for local fire departments and Rangeland Fire Protection Associations to receive equipment the BLM no longer needs, according to the BLM website. In order to receive the engine, recipients need to have an existing Cooperative Fire Protection Agreement; serve a rural community; have wildland fire protection needs; are near publicly administered lands and responds to wild fires; and the Division of Fire and Aviation depends on them for aid in response to wildfires.
The engine, which is a Type 4 wildland fire engine called E-2432, was transferred March 22, the release reported. It includes basic stocking of firefighting equipment, tools and a mobile radio. It will also include service records and manuals. Firefighters from BLM will be training VFD member on how to use the apparatus.
"The Winnemucca Division of Fire and Aviation transferred engines to Golconda and Lovelock volunteer fire departments this past year,” Winnemucca District Fire Management Officer Donovan Walker said in the release. “I am happy to announce the future transfer of two additional excess wildland fire engines to Valmy and Orovada volunteer fire departments in the coming year as the Winnemucca BLM continues to receive replacement apparatuses to take the place of its life-cycled equipment.”
