The Chief of Kamloops Fire and Rescue says the fire department is facing some serious equipment challenges.

Mike Adams says chief among them is an aging fleet and the difficulties with getting parts. Adams says in too many cases, including six front line pieces of equipment, the manufacturer no longer exists, which makes it very challenging to replace a broken part.

“Much like in every industry where they have specialized pieces of equipment or apparatus, the costs we see continue to rise,” he says.

“Partly due to the strength of the Canadian dollar and ongoing taxes and levies that we see. Much of the equipment that we purchase comes out of the United States and then some of the delays in getting it across and the additional costs associated with that.”

Adams says in some cases fire department mechanics have either manufactured the part themselves or found other creative solutions.

He says KFR is now working with the city on solutions.

Editors Note: Angelo Iacobucci passed away December 14th. While we work through our tremendous loss he continues to be a big part of Radio NL as he always will be. We have found a folder of almost 30 stories he had prepared for the holiday season. This is one of them.