Cypress County Dunmore Fire Station pictured in 2024. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

By Eli J. Ridder

THE CYPRESS REPORT

Cypress County’s new fire trucks are Canadian-made, chief says

Mar 13, 2025 | 1:56 PM

Cypress County fire chief Jason Linton says his department’s new fire trucks are made in Canada and coming from two provinces.

Part of the emergency services division’s 2024 capital budget approved by council included four new fire trucks.

Two of the new vehicles are wildland trucks, doubling the number of wildland fire response vehicles in the county’s fleet.

“Our number one type of fire in Cypress County is wildland, we’re going to get two really good wildland vehicles,” Linton told CHAT News in an interview this week.

IN THE COMMUNITY

Invictus Games flag travelling across Canada passes through Suffield

26m ago

WHAT'S ON

Here is what's on this weekend in Medicine Hat and area: March 14-16

6h ago

HEALTH CARE

Staff shortage means further restrictions for emergency room at Bow Island Health Centre

10h ago

Another addition will be a heavy rescue truck that will replace one of the current engines.

“That rescue truck will also support special operations such as tech rescue, backcountry rescue, large-scale incidents. Any structure fire, it will go to support the entire county,” Linton said.

The fourth truck will be a more standard fire engine.

The fire department specced out what it needed in a truck and then put out a tender that various manufacturers submitted bids on for the procurement process.

“This year, it all worked out that most successful bidders were Canadian manufacturers,” Linton said.

“Just the way the bids were and the specs of what we needed, these Canadian manufacturers were able to meet all of our needs and was at the price point,” he added.

The and the pair of wildland trucks will originate from Manitoba and the heavy rescue and standard fire engine trucks will come from Quebec.

Chief Jason Linton speaks on CHAT News at Noon on March 12, 2025. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

All trucks are at this point on or under budget, Linton said. They are all anticipated to be operational across Cypress County within two to three years.

The work has already begun.

“Some of our staff are going down to Quebec in a couple of weeks to do the pre-builds for the engine and heavy rescue,” the chief said.

Those could come in 12 months at the earliest, Linton said. The Manitoba trucks will take around two years.

Linton said he’s able to keep using some of the other old trucks.

“All of our major apparatus are on a 20-year life cycle,” he explained.

“Some are increasing to 25 just because they have a little mileage on them, and we can extend the life of them and meet the insurance generator’s requirements with a little bit of paperwork.”

Linton said there will be a chance for the public to give a goodbye to some of those outgoing trucks at an open house on May 10.

— With files from Dan Reynish