New Waimea Tanker Now Online

Bulldog Tanker blessed and gifted to the Hawaii Fire Department (HFD) by the Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation on July 6th, 2019 will be officially stationed in Waimea.

(All Photos Courtesy of Benjamin Agdeppa, HIRSC Founder and Main Administrator)

The new Bulldog Tanker recently blessed and gifted to the HFD by the Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation thanks to an anonymous donor will be officially stationed at the Waimea Fire Station (Station 9). Tanker 9 (official callsign) will respond to fire calls throughout West Hawaii. New Tanker has already responded to a few emergencies since going online after being accepted by County Council on July 9th.

New Tanker 9 could not have come at a better time, as it's the peak for Fire Season here on Hawaii Island. Most parts of the Island of Hawaii remain under abnormally dry conditions and risk for fires remains elevated.

The new Bulldog Tanker, custom built by Howe and Howe Technologies in Maine, is the first tanker from Howe and Howe Technologies and of it's kind to be delivered in the State of Hawai'i. This tanker can reach a top speed of 60 mph and can hold up to 1,250 gallons of water and up to 30 gallons of Class A Foam.

Previous Tanker 9 (Pictured above), which went into service days before a major brush fire broke out on Highway 190 in August of 2018, will be reassigned and stationed at the South Kohala Fire Station (Station 14) under callsign of Tanker 14.

Firefighters at the South Kohala station are still currently undergoing training and operation familiarization of the tanker at this time and expect to be online and responding to fire calls in the next couple of weeks.

Tanker 14 (Ex-Tanker 9), built by KME Fire Apparatus Division in Pennsylvania, is a 2018 International 6x6 Tanker, that can carry up to 1,200 gallons of water and 30 gallons of Class A Foam.