The City of Polson’s Fire Department recently added a new engine to its fleet. 

Fire Chief Clint Cottle said that the Type 5 engine is particularly useful in helping put out wildland fires, but that it will also be helpful in other situations. 

The department used $60,000 in impact-fee money to buy a used truck, Cottle said. Volunteers then spent a couple of months pouring time and sweat into outfitting the truck properly. 

“Several volunteers spent a lot of hours putting this together,” Cottle said. “I would commend them on that.” 

The truck holds 400 gallons of water and can also spray foam. 

“It’s used to smother fires,” Cottle said of the foam setting. 

Cottle said the truck joins a Type 6 engine that can also be used to fight wildland fire. The department decided it needed another wildland engine because each year it gets calls to assist rural fire districts or the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Division of Fire, but only had one engine that was useful, Cottle said. 

Now a wildland engine can be left behind to protect the city. Polson also has a lot of open land where the new engine could be of use, Cottle said. 

In addition to the wildland trucks, the department has one rescue truck, one water tender, one ladder truck and two engines equipped for structure fire.