ST. LUNAIRE-GRIQUET, N.L.
The Town of St. Lunaire-Griquet is getting a new fire truck.
The pumper unit, costing about $350,000, will be cost-shared 80-20 between the province and the town. The town’s share is around $62,000.
St. Lunaire-Griquet Fire Chief Tyler Hillier said the announcement by Municipal Affairs Minister Andrew Parsons on Oct. 11 was a big deal for the town and the region.
“It means a lot to our department,” Hillier said. “We’ve been currently working with an outdated 1994 truck that’s not providing the proper service.
“With everything modernizing, buildings changing, needs and demands are changing and we needed this truck. We’ve been trying to get this truck for a number of years now and today marks a milestone for us, and not only to our community, we can also help with our region and our other fire departments, smaller departments.”
The town expects the new unit to arrive in about 11 months.
Parsons was in the town to reveal a photo of the new unit.
He commended Mayor Dale Colbourne, the town council and the St. Lunaire-Griquet volunteer brigade.
“I have a lot of time for volunteers, and someone like Dale, who doesn’t just do stuff for this community but takes on a lot for the entire province,” he said. “And it’s the same way I think about councillors and fire departments, we’re lucky to have people like you to do this job.”
Colbourne added it’s one thing to volunteer to do the job, but towns and firefighters need the proper equipment and the province was happy to provide it.
