The CFA received its new heavy 4.4 C tanker that can carry 4000 litres of water, a significant upgrade from its existing 2000 litre single cab truck.
Katamatite CFA captain John Parnell said the crew is excited for the new vehicle as it has a number of technological and safety upgrades.
"It gives us a more up-to-date support for any emergencies in the community ... it’ll give us a bit more capacity in fighting fires,“ he said.
"There’s a bit of training involved in learning how to use the vehicle and using it properly ... we’re hoping all going to plan it’ll be online just before Christmas.“
The old truck will stay in use for a few more weeks after the new truck is fully kitted out and the crew trained, before being decommissioned and sold at auction.
Katamatite Leading Senior Constable Chris Westrope’s new vehicle is an all-wheel-drive Volkswagen Tiguan, which he said is better suited to his duties across farmlands.
“I had a wagon which was a two-wheel-drive ... the old one was pretty much not suited to the area that I was in,” he said.
“It was approved almost a year ago, but because of COVID a lot of cars have been really hard to get ... normally we swap cars at 80,000 kilometres, the old one had about 120,000 kilometres.”
The new car also features new equipment such as a mobile radar and a laser speed detecting device that can pinpoint speeding cars in traffic accurately.
Similar to the CFA truck, the old police car will be stripped down and auctioned off at the end of its usage period.
“We’re really well equipped in Katamatite now, thanks to the new fire truck and police car,” Leading Sen Constable Westrope said.
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