PHILLIPSBURG – A new brush truck will carry Phillips County Rural District No. 1 firefighters to battle fires in fields and pastures.

The Prairie Wolf brush and rescue truck was purchased with grant funds from the Hansen Foundation, as well as several other area foundations and funds from the county’s endowment fund.

The district’s 17 volunteer firefighters responded to 103 calls last year, including three large mutual-aid fires covering more than 45,000 acres.

The new vehicle, which replaced an obsolete truck, holds 500 gallons of water and 20 gallons of foam and carries a portable jaws of life unit.