By DAVE SCHULTZ
Bluffton Fire Chief Don Craig told members of the city’s Board of Public Works and Safety Tuesday that he’s looking for a new grass rig for his department — and he’s hoping a partial approach will pay off.
The grass rig, used to fight grass fires and fires in remote locations, was taken out of service recently when it was found to be over its approved weight by a ton. The rig is on a Ford F-350 chassis, which is not built to hold as much weight as the grass rig components — particularly, 275 gallons of water — required.
Craig said rather than replacing the entire rig all at once, which could take as long as a year and cost well into six figures, it might be possible to put the equipment onto a Ford F-450 or F-550 chassis at a cost of $78,000.
There may be a problem. Because the grass rig was modified to fit on the F-350, some additional modification may be necessary to fit it to the F-450 or F-350 chassis.
The Board of Works members — Mayor John Whicker, Scott Mentzer, and Josh Hunt — urged Craig to have a discussion with the leadership of the fire territory, which has in the past paid for the grass rig.
daves@news-banner.com
