A number of new fire trucks have been put into service during the past six months while talks of purchasing other new fire trucks continue to be on the table.

During a Sept. 17 ceremony at Station 19, firefighters, paramedics, county commissioners and other local dignitaries used hand towels to wipe dry three new brush fire trucks and a command vehicle.

As part of the Washdown and Dedication Ceremony – the first for Highlands County Fire Rescue – HCFR Chaplain Scott Dixon offered a prayer, asking God to “place a guiding and guarding heart” around the trucks and those who will operate them.

Division Chief Billy Kingston said the three brush trucks cost $168,000 each for a total of $504,000. When you add the $60,000 for the division truck, it brings the total purchase to $546,000. Not a bad investment when one considers brush trucks and other equipment saved about $9 million in homes and businesses during the Bluebird Fire in Leisure Lakes last year.

The new brush trucks – one for the north of the county, one for central county, and one for south county – have a high-pressure, water nozzle on the front that can be directed using a joystick inside the cab. A 400-gallon water tank on the back means the truck carries its own water supply.

“These give us the ability to come in between houses, put that fire wall right in front of us, knock that down and move on to the next house to protect it,” Kingston said.

The new command truck – a four-door Ford F-250 with a cap on the bed – will take supervisors off-road. The vehicle has Toyo hardened tires, Kingston said.

“It gives us the ability to get into tight spots off the road, through sandy areas we were unable to get into before,” Kingston said. “We saw from this year, the significant brush fire exposure the county had, and a lot of places we couldn’t get with those vehicles that we can with these.”

HCFR has two tankers on order as well as four ambulances that will replace ambulances with more than 300,000 miles on them, Kingston said.

In a July Avon Park City Council budget workshop, Fire Chief Andrew Marcy discussed the cost of the Avon Park Fire Department for the 2024/2025 fiscal year with the inclusion of a new ladder truck.

Marcy conducted a presentation to assess different options and costs to the City Council for the firetruck. He started off by mentioning that the current ladder truck is 23 years old, around the time Marcy joined the fire department. The City purchased it for approximately $471,000, according to Marcy.

Marcy said the National Fire Protection Agency states that anything 15 years or more shouldn’t be a frontline truck. At 20 years, it’s supposed to be in reserve.

Marcy said a 100-foot stick is $1.9 million meanwhile the platform ladder is $2.2 million not including the same discount of $262,818 if paid ahead of time or if they “buy now and pay now.” He stated that their current truck was “practically worthless” when discussing the option of selling or trading it.

The City Council ended the discussion in favor of purchasing the 100-foot platform ladder firetruck now with reserve funds. It will be discussed further at another session.

In June, the Sebring Fire Department rolled out its newest apparatus, Engine 15, at Station 15, with city officials on hand for the traditional wash down and push-in ceremony.

Speaking to the gathering at the ceremony, Sebring Fire Department Lt. Carlos Rivera said its engine has served the City of Sebring and Highlands County residents for over 15 years. It has been on countless calls, helped save numerous lives and played a crucial role in protecting the community.

The trusted engine has been placed as a reserve unit to remain a vital of the department’s fleet, he said. The new engine brings significant advancements.

“The new engine brings a first of its kind to our fleet featuring lifesaving tools that are entirely battery operated, instead of the traditionally gas-powered tools,” Rivera said. “This innovative approach not only enhances our deployment efficiency and effectiveness, but also demonstrates our commitment to greater reliability and modernization.”

Also, with the new apparatus comes Safety Cloud® by HAAS Alert, he noted. It provides an advanced warning to drivers that an emergency vehicles are operating in their vicinity, which allows drivers to take action to avoid collisions, such as slowing down, changing lanes or pulling over to the side of the road.

The city purchased the Pierce Saber Pumper for $674,078 plus equipment costs of $141,864, for a total cost $815,942.

‍

This article was originally published by The Highlands News-Sun