Recently Camden County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) and Camden County Fire Rescue (CCFR) joined with the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) to provide enhanced firefighting capability on Little Cumberland Island through updates to an existing water buffalo firefighting apparatus.
“We are fortunate to have supportive partners in our community,” said Emergency Management Director Chuck White. “Georgia Forestry Commission, led locally by Chief Ranger Frank Allen, worked with us to ensure the critical capability of supporting the wildland firefighting mission for years to come.”
Earlier this year as part of joint fire hazard preparedness planning, partners identified that GFC’s existing water buffalo firefighting apparatus located on Little Cumberland Island was inoperable. The water buffalo, a trailer mounted 400 gallon tank, outfitted with a pump, motor, and hoses, had fallen into a state of disrepair. Recognizing the benefit of having this key piece of equipment fully operational to support Wildland Firefighting efforts, Camden County and GFC partnered to rehabilitate the apparatus.
The water buffalo improvements were completed through GFC in-house maintenance supported with Camden County funding. The combined efforts resulted in a comprehensive rebuild of the water buffalo while saving over $4,000 in cost.