The Fall Branch Volunteer Fire Department, which serves a portion of northeastern Greene County, has greatly improved its firefighting capability with the acquisition of two new fire engines over the last two years.

Doug Callan, a Greene County-based sales representative for the 4 Guys Fire Trucks, said the department took delivery of its newest truck, a new Spartan combination pumper and tanker in May.

The new truck, which carries 1,500 gallons of water and up to six firefighters to fire scenes, joined another Spartan pumper that the department acquired only a year earlier.

Both trucks, Callan said, were acquired with the financial assistance of U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency grants that the department won.

"I don't know of anyone else who has ever received FEMA grants to purchase new fire trucks in two consecutive years," Callan said. He noted that the Fall Branch VFD won a pair of $275,000 FEMA grants to help with the purchase of the two new trucks.

Callan noted that the new trucks cost about $300,000 each and were built on custom Spartan truck chassises by 4 Guys Fire Trucks, of Meyersdale, Pa.

He also said Jared Dawson, the Fall Branch VFD's 23-year-old captain, wrote the grant applications that led to the department winning large federal grants in two consecutive years.

Dawson, who works as a paid firefighter for the City of Kingsport, volunteers with the Fall Branch VFD during his off hours.

During a Thursday interview at the Fall Branch VFD's 14,000-square-foot fire hall on Tennessee Highway 93 in Fall Branch, Dawson and Sgt. Jamie Ward talked about the department's new trucks.

The department moved into its new fire hall, which includes 7,000-square-feet of living and office space in 2007, they said.

The fire hall features a large kitchen and a large meeting room in addition to sleeping quarters for both male and female firefighters.

Dawson, whose father, Jim Dawson, is the FBVFD's operations chief, said the newest of the department's two new fire trucks is the first truck to leave the fire hall on calls for assistance from other nearby fire departments because of its ability to carry 1,500 gallons of water.

The slightly older Spartan pumper that was acquired in 2008 is the department's front-line fire engine for structure fires within the Fall Branch VFD's 93 square-mile service area, which includes parts of northeastern Greene County.

In addition to fighting fires, both trucks are equipped for use in assisting the department's smaller "rescue truck" in extricating victims of traffic accidents, Dawson pointed out.

"All or our firefighters are trained in vehicle extrication," Sgt. Ward said.

In addition to traditional water-based firefighting systems, both trucks are equipped with two different types of foam firefighting systems, Capt. Dawson said.

One foam system, he said, is designed to rapidly extinguish structure fires, while the second is designed to combat gasoline, diesel fuel and chemical fires.

The pumper-tanker truck that the FBVFD put into service in May also is equipped with a video camera system that allows its driver to see behind the truck while seated at its wheel.

Callan noted that driver can use the rear-view camera to back the truck up to a portable "dump tank" at fire scene, extend a chute from the truck's rear compartment by remote control and dump water into the portable dump tank at the flip of a switch in the cab.

Callan also pointed out that both of the new fire trucks are equipped with on-board electric generators that are hydraulically driven.

The generators can provide power for electric rescue tools, on scene emergency lights and other equipment at fire and accident scenes.

A reel-mounted power cord built into the truck can be easily extended and rewound by a single firefighter, according Callan.

The bodies of both trucks are built of stainless steel, which is not subject to rust and has a much higher tensile strength than does aluminum.

Both firefighting vehicles have large numbers of storage compartments for tools and equipment.

Both also have extensive arrays of lights built into them to provide illumination at fire and accident scenes.

The two trucks also feature automatic transmissions and powerful diesel engines.