Officers of West Virginia's Ravenswood Volunteer Fire Company arrived in West Grove yesterday to inspect and purchase West Grove Fire Company's retired water supply tank truck.

Ravenswood Fire Company is located 408 miles from WGFC, southwest of Parkersburg, WV, along the Ohio River -- about a seven hour drive from West Grove. Their Chief reports that the truck will maintain it's "classic" WGFC Ford Chrome Yellow paint, and they plan to maintain the designation Tanker 22 as it starts it's second career in West Virginia.

Known first as 22-5 (the number designated for a Tanker), and then as Tanker 22, the 1990 Mack S & S water tanker served WGFC faithfully for nearly 30 years. Tanker 22 carried 3,000 gallons of water, featured three large high-volume dump valves operated from the driver's position, and a portable tank that enabled fast water supply at fire scenes.

The retired Tanker was replaced as part of WGFC's multi-year fleet plan, which outlines on orderly replacement of apparatus as units approach and pass 20-25 years in service. This plan provides the Fire Company with a predictable road map for fleet management, and helps the organization manage it's capital budgets on an on-going basis. The purchase of the replacement Tanker follows the most recent WGFC purchase completed in 2018 of Ladder 22.

The new Tanker 22 is a 2019 Peterbilt 567, with a 3,500 gallon elliptical water tank, from 4Guys Fire Trucks, which was placed in service in June. The proceeds from the sales of the retired truck will go toward the maintenance and upkeep of WGFC's fleet of apparatus.