An 1985 beer truck used as a makeshift fire tanker sounds more like something a person might joke about, however that is exactly what Clear Pond Fire Department used as their tanker until last week when they were given a new 2013 Chassis Fire Tanker.

Brenna Hancock, Bamberg County Fire Coordinator along with current county council members and fire fighters stood in front of the new tanker on Friday, February 15th, where discussions were held about specifics of the new piece of equipment.

The tanker, which is the vehicle that brings water to a fire, can hold 3,000 gallons of water. Even though Clear Pond houses the truck, it will aid in fires anywhere from, "Rivers Bridge to Little Swamp and the other side of Bamberg," according to Hancock.

Some of those in attendance like, Scott Brown, Chief of Clear Pond Fire Department said he thought the new tanker was, "a big asset to the county and fire service." Brown continued to say the truck would help the fire service in Bamberg County in reference to response time and the quality of service offered to the county.

Brown and Hancock made several references to the safety of the previous makeshift tanker that had over 176,000 miles. Brown said there were times when there were problems relying on the tanker.

"Sometimes you didn't know if it was going to crank or if you would have to jump it off to get it to crank."

Several grants a year are written explained Hancock. Once a grant it rewarded, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) decides which department receives the materials/money from each grant. FEMA strives to, "support citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation [individuals] work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards."

Due to the safety issues at hand, along with the needs to respond to disasters, Clear Pond Fire Department was designated as the new home for the truck.

Hancock and Brown asked to make it very clear the support and dedication shown to the departments needs from both present and past county council is very much appreciated.

As the red truck shone in the sunlight off Main Highway in Bamberg, and those who helped make this possible stood around discussing the great achievement, Brown said, "It's been a battle, but every little step makes it better for the whole fire service."