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Dewey Fire Chief Chad Schueler made an appearance at the Dewey City Council meeting on Monday night with a trade in mind.

It was at this time that Chief Schueler asked about putting the trade of tanker trucks with the Caney Fire Department in Kansas on the Council’s next agenda. There was some confusion because Chief Schueler thought that the item would be discussed during Monday’s meeting. He had brought this to the attention of the Council in their final meeting of in December 2019.

City Manager Kevin Trease said he did not receive any paper work concerning the issue. He added that the Council will discuss the item and take appropriate action when it is scheduled.

That does not mean the trade discussions have fallen through. The Dewey City Council said they could have this item slated for their next meeting to be held on Monday, Jan. 20th.

In the final meeting of 2019 for the Dewey City Council, Dewey Fire Chief Schueler took center stage to talk about the trade. He said the Dewey Fire Department and the Caney Fire Department in Kansas are looking to swap tanker trucks. Chief Schueler said Dewey has two small tankers presently, but they need something bigger.

Dewey’s Tanker 5 is aging. Chief Schueler said it was the first on his list to try and replace. With the rig from Caney (pictured below), Chief Schueler said they can see better possibilities that they cannot see with the tanker that they have.

For one, the Dewey Fire Department would be able to take the tanker into a field, and it could be used as a brush truck. They also have features they would like to build onto the truck in mind. This includes pulling the tank off of the tanker they are looking to get and put a new poly-tank onto it to increase the water capacity of the vehicle. Chief Schueler said the axels on Caney’s truck can hold more weight than the axels on Tanker 5.

The conversations started about two months ago, and Ian Nichols with Dewey Fire joined Chief Schueler in Caney, Kansas for the initial discussions. The CFD first approached DFD with the proposition, and once Chief Schueler and Nichols saw the vehicle, they wanted to carry the conversation further.

Both departments have had a chance to test drive the other’s vehicle. When looking at the reason of why Caney wants a vehicle like Dewey’s Tanker 5, Chief Schueler said it is because they only cover the City of Caney with their current tanker. Thus, the Caney Fire Department does not need the huge truck that they possess at present.

Equipment on the trucks would be pulled by both departments. The only thing Dewey Fire would lose is their dump tank. However, Tanker 8 would still have its dump tank, so Dewey Fire would not really be losing anything. A couple leaks will need to be repaired on the vehicle that Dewey would obtain, but Chief Schueler said it is nothing serious. He said his guys could fix them with ease.

The truck has a six horse power engine. Chief Schueler said it runs good, but they would also look to replace it for something bigger.

Training would be required for those in the Dewey Fire Department that want to drive the new tanker if it were to come to them. Chief Schueler said he and Assistant Fire Chief Cody Meade have talked about having a 100-day training program before any firefighter would be allowed to drive it. He said the list for those getting to drive the vehicle would be small at best anyway.

No action was taken on this item during the Dewey City Council meeting in December 2019. Then, City Manager Kevin Trease said he would have to bring the item back to the Council as a resolution in their next meeting, which will take place in January 2020.

(Photo courtesy: Chief Schueler)