New firetrucks arrive to revamp department’s response fleet
By Riley Funk
The St. Joseph Fire Department is looking forward to better serving the community thanks to a few new sets of wheels.
The department received two new pumper trucks Tuesday evening, both of which have a water tank that will hold 1,000 gallons. One of the trucks will go to Fire Station 10 and the other to Station 8.
The new additions won’t stop there. A ladder truck that will replace Fire Engine 6 is expected to arrive next week. The vehicle will have a 78-foot ladder on top and will be housed at Station 6.
“This is going to be incredible for our fire department,” Assistant Fire Chief Jamey McVicker said on Tuesday.
This comes after the St. Joseph City Council unanimously approved in December a grant of more than $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for the purchase of a truck to replace Fire Engine 6.
There are still a few steps the department needs to take before the trucks can hit the streets.
“It’ll be a little while before it goes in service … there’s more equipment that we have to get installed,” McVicker said. “We have to run more radios, wires, all of our rechargeable battery tools. We’ve got to get all that stuff installed before we put it in service.”
Originally, the department said they wanted to have the trucks arrive by the end of January or the beginning of February. McVicker said the process was drawn out, but is pleased that everything worked out.
“COVID put us, as with all industries, behind. It’s now taking pumpers 18 to 24 months to be manufactured, where it was nine to 12. Ladder trucks, two to four years out so the whole thing is getting pushed back,” McVicker said. “You’ve got to really plan ahead so that you meet your timelines. Getting these three pieces of new apparatus is going to be huge for us.”
McVicker said the new additions set the tone for what the department will offer the city in 2024.
“With all this new technology that’s coming down, we’re certainly hoping that this will serve the citizens so much better, get us out the doors quicker, get us to where trouble needs us much faster. That’s what we want to do, is just be there for our citizens faster than we were before,” McVicker said.
