Tender (also “Water Tender”): A wheeled fire apparatus equipped to carry large volumes of water to a fire.
Friday August 26, 2011 the Alamo Springs VFD took delivery on a new tender for the department. Built by Neel Associates in Waco, it has dual functions of moving water to a fire scene and firefighting.
The unit is built on a Ford F-750 chassis with a Cummins diesel engine. It holds 2100 gallons of water, uses a 500 gallon per minute pump, has two 1 ½ inch hose connections, a foam system for better fire suppression and a tower nozzle mounted on the tank.
On Saturday our members spent many man hours moving equipment from the old Mack engine to the new tender. This is a major improvement to our inventory and our firefighting and mutual aid capabilities. It will serve this community for many years to come.
The truck was made possible by a grant from the Texas Forest Service augmented by funds from Kendall County and contributions to the department from landowners in our area of responsibility.