The Geary County Rural Fire Department has taken possession of a new 2,000 gallon tanker fire unit.

Rural Fire Chief Garry Berges said the unit will replace a 1980 1,800 gallon tanker that had been in service. The tanker will be housed at the Main Rural Fire Station in Junction City and will respond to major fires in Geary County to supply water. The majority of the rural area in the county has no water hydrants and firefighters rely on water tankers to supply the water needed to fight fires.

Berges said the tanker was made possible through a FEMA Assistance to Firefighter grant in the amount of $205,000 that the department applied for late in 2016. The truck was purchased for $187,301 with the grant paying for 95%. The Fire Department paid the remaining amount of $9,365. The remaining excess grant money will be utilized to purchase additional firefighting equipment.

In addition to carrying water, the tanker also carries a floating pump and a dump tank that can be set up at fire scenes so that the water can be off loaded. The floating pump will then be used to supply the water to another fire unit on the scene. That allows the tanker to shuttle water from a water source to the fire scene.

Berges added once the volunteer firefighters are trained on the tanker unit, it will be placed in service.