The number on the plates are the CFR (Canadian Forces Registration) number. The plate does not include the year of acceptance mind you...a complete CFR would be 71-01234. The 71 will be the year of acceptance (not necessary the model year). However, the DND will not re-use the 5 digits again until the old vehicle is long gone.
I do think it was in Dundurn, but moved over to Shilo at some point. Fire-trucks are high cost/low density, so their lifespan is much longer than say something like a pickup truck or staff car. The DND will move vehicles around between bases or units for reasons like fleet rotation, redundancy. etc. In those days, it was not unusual for the regular force to get a new truck, and the old one, if it still had usable life, be assigned to the reserves.
There was one still on this base with the base firehall into the 70s, but it was not this truck. Several range fire trucks are held with the base engineers.....I suspect this may have been the case with this truck back in the day, where it was possibly held in support of the summer militia concentrations.
I confirmed with the original purchaser of this firetruck that he bought it out of Shilo.
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