SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico (KTSM) — The Sunland Park Fire Department explains how important their brush trucks are when the Borderland is dealing with a fire watch alert.
Fire officials in Sunland Park told KTSM they are constantly on alert as the Southwest region has experienced drought for several years.
Daniel Medrano, fire chief of Sunland Park Fire, said his team stays prepared in any situation including having the proper gear to help when seconds count.
“We constantly have our vehicles maintained and our crews trained up in case of a wildfire, some kind of brush fire in the area,” Medrano said.
Medrano told KTSM their brush truck, a larger pickup truck different than the “normal” fire truck, is used often because its more accessible and convenient.
“They are very durable trucks. You see, it’s a higher lift. It carries 400 gallons of water on this truck, limited amount of hose. But we can operate this vehicle with one firefighter. It has a joystick in the middle, to operate the turret, shoot water from the front, from the sides in the back so we can actually pump and roll while we can be going over a grass fire, a block of fire, just driving and extinguishing that fire,” Medrano said.
He said the brush truck can be used for more than just putting out grass fires but alsocan help those who may get stuck in the desert.
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