SLO County fire department gets $1 million to replace aging fire truck. ‘A long time coming’
The Templeton fire department is slated get a new fire truck with an influx of federal funding.
Local and state representatives visited the town’s fire station on Thursday morning to celebrate the $1 million government grant secured by Congressman Jimmy Panetta’s office.
This follows another million-dollar grant by the Congressman earlier this month towards Cambria’s efforts to replace its old ambulance station.
The event was attended by Congressman Panetta, Assemblymember Dawn Addis, SLO County Supervisor John Peschong, local leaders and first responders.
“This is an opportunity to show the people in the community that the federal government is working and is making a difference in people’s lives,” Supervisor Peschong said.
During his speech, Panetta said the Templeton Fire Department deserved access to the right equipment to help it safely do its job.
“The Templeton Fire Department, based on its dedication and devotion, deserves the right equipment to respond safely and effectively, to help people to put out fires and, yes, to keep this community safe,” Panetta said. “This federal investment toward a new fire truck will enhance our firefighter safety and their everlasting promise to be ready and responsive.”
The new engine will replace outdated equipment, which will prove necessary as Templeton and San Luis Obispo County face a higher likelihood of damaging fires in the wake of recent heat waves.
“The current truck behind me is from 2002. It’s actually a good truck, and it’s done good work, but as we’ve seen lately at the national level, sometimes you’re just past your prime,” Panetta quipped.
Templeton Fire Chief Tom Peterson said the old engine will survive a couple more years as a backup, but that getting this new one is essential.
“The challenges that the fire service is facing today in our area, throughout California, and throughout the nation are unprecedented,” Peterson said. “This new engine is a critical piece of equipment that will secure the much needed reliability and safety to our community and our firefighters.”
Mechanical problems frequently put their old truck out of use for days or weeks at a time, he said, forcing the Templeton Fire Department to use its much lower capacity wildfire response truck or even borrow engines from neighboring agencies.
That wildfire response truck “is designed for fighting fires in wildland, grass fires, woodland fires, that kind of thing,” Templeton Community Services District General Manager Jeff Briltz told The Tribune on Thursday.
“It doesn’t carry the same tools, and, importantly, doesn’t have the same pumping capacity, so it can’t put as much water on a fire as (the new) engine can,” he said.
Peterson has been fighting for a new engine since he arrive in Templeton as fire chief in 2020, he said.
“It’s a long time coming for me, but it’ll still be a couple of years until we actually get it,” he told The Tribune.
Right now, they are quoted at just over a two-year wait.
Once the new one is in operation, the older truck will be kept in reserve.
Addis also addressed the crowd Thursday, extending a round of thank-yous to the North County’s first responders who provide emergency services and fight wildfires across the state every year.
Addis also highlighted the state Climate Bond bill that will appear on California voters’ general election ballots in November, which would provide funding to address a myriad of climate crises and bolster statewide disaster resilience.
This story was originally published August 2, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: This article has been updated to reflect that the the Climate Bond is a piece of state legislation passed by the California state senate and assembly.
