JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Rural Fire Department purchased a UTV to help with firefighting, said Brian Paulson, fire chief. The new Cam-Am six-wheeler and the department’s 2010 Polaris Ranger have been upgraded with the same radios and new tanks, pumps and a foam system custom built for both units, he said.

Each side-by-side vehicle was fitted with a high-pressure pump, a 100-gallon water tank and a 10-gallon tank for foam.

“You’re using high pressure versus water volume so you can put out a lot more fire with the high ultra-high pressure,” Paulson said. “... What we’ll use foam on is railroad ties … the foam will basically blanket and put a barrier from oxygen getting back to the log or railroad tie, so it smothers the fire.”

There is also the ability to carry a Stokes basket on the vehicles to rescue someone in the field, he said.

There are 33 firefighters in JRFD and having the same equipment on both vehicles helps with training and their use, Paulson said.

The total cost of the Can-Am six-wheeler, a trailer to haul it and the equipment for the Can-Am and Polaris Ranger cost about $75,661, Paulson said. They were paid for through a contingency fund for the new building for Jamestown Fire District ($28,256), Jamestown Rural Fire Department fundraiser ($32,405) and about $15,000 in donations and grants, he said. The donations were from Centerspace Homes and Clarice Liechty, and the grants were from Jamestown Community Foundation and North Dakota Communication Foundation.

Having the new Can-Am with the added equipment gives the department essentially another full-size pickup for firefighting without having to spend $170,000 to $190,000 to outfit a new pickup, Paulson said.

He said the vehicles will be especially helpful in certain specific conditions in the field.

“With these, we will be able to get through a lot more terrain than we would with a pickup, a full-size pickup,” he said. “You know, there’s areas we can’t take these trucks, they’re too heavy, we’d either get stuck or wreck the truck.”

Paulson said the department now has 11 vehicles. They are expecting to get two other vehicles, a grass rig and a pumper truck, within the next year, he said.