The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher
The Biggsville Fire Protection District has a new water tank truck which may benefit those in the county in more ways than one.
Biggsville's 3-member board contracted D.C. Cooper, Inc. of rural Stronghurst to custom design, and build a water tank to fit on a new truck chassis they had purchased out of Kansas City.
Owner, Kim Gullberg along with his experienced crew of welders and engineers worked with Fire Protection District members President Bill Heller, Dean Smith, and Jerry Shutwell, to come up with a satisfactory design to replace an expiring 1,000 gallon tanker truck the district was eager to replace.
"The "63 tanker truck is tired, and it's time she retires," Heller said. "We are fortunate we were able to use the expertise of an experienced O.E.M. crew right here in Henderson County, keeping our tax dollars at home."
The trustees, obviously pleased with the larger 1600 gallon tanker, were working on plans to introduce it to Fire Chief Jon Curtiss and the fifteen volunteer firefighters who serve the Biggsville Fire District.
They praised the work of Gullberg, and Jon Riley, Production Manager Engineer, and the entire D.C. Cooper crew.
With safety in mind, the water tank is uniquely built with a low profile which evenly distributes water, helping to prevent a tipover or rollover, Heller explained.
The custom design isn't anything new for the D.C. Cooper company which dates back to the early 40s. Gullberg, who has worked for the company since the mid 80's helped revive it and then moved the company to Illinois in 1993 and took over as owner.
It began in the 40s as a basic welding shop, but it is now an O.E.M. (Original Engineer Manufacturer), custom designing and building platform line washers and hot melt equipment vessels.
"We mainly work with vessels that hold liquid, so this was right up our alley," Riley said, "but, we try not to turn down any job that we are asked to do."
This is the third truck that is housed at Biggsville. The Biggsville Fire District covers parts of Gladstone and Rozetta and all of Biggsville township.
Their two other trucks carry approximately 1000 gallons of water which empty quickly when there is no fire hydrant nearby. Exactly how quickly they empty depends on the pressure being used.
Money for the tanker came from Fire District Funds, budgeted from fire protection district tax dollars.
The Fire District share The jaws of life with Gladstone, and fundraisers help meet the needs of keeping every firemen in approved uniform which includes jacket, pants, boots, helmet, and gloves at a cost of around $13-1400 each. Half the budget each year goes for insurance and keeping equipment updated," Dean Smith said.
Trustees said they are always short of firemen, especially firemen who are home during the day and encourage anyone wanting to help meet this need in the community to contact one of them. EMTs are also needed for the ambulance service.
Biggsville Fire Protection Trustees received their finished holding tank truck from D.C. Cooper, Inc. Monday. The local company owned by Kim Gullberg, designed and built the water tank. Above from left is Trustee Jerry Shutwell, Jon Riley- D.C. Cooper Engineer, Trustee President Bill Heller, and Trustee Dean Smith.