Lakewood Fire Department Replaces Aging Fleet Of Vehicles
Trending
LAKEWOOD -- The Lakewood Fire Department is now equipped with a new fleet of vehicles to combat fires and other public safety emergencies.
The vehicles -- a pumping engine, an ambulance, a command vehicle, a pickup truck and a boat -- were either purchased or donated to the department to replace what Fire Chief Kurt Hallberg called an aging, overdue fleet.
"The engine we had was 23 years old … we usually try to replace them around 20 years so they still have some value to the department," Hallberg said. "You don't want to worry about your vehicle breaking down, but it's just like your personal car … it can wear out."
Hallberg described how "little things start going wrong" in an older fleet, from leaks in the sealing to worn down tires to drained batteries.
"When you're out (at a fire scene), you got to have everything working," he said. "If you break down and another truck has to get there, it's really time consuming and could cost a life."
The new fire engine is a 2016 Spartan Gladiator pumping engine and replaces a 1993 engine, now on sale. The new ambulance is a 2016 Ford "Road Rescue" Type III ambulance and replaces a 2006 model now being used as a backup.
Both the fire engine and ambulance were purchased at $648,000 and $159,000, respectively, by the village of Lakewood.
The department's old pickup truck and command vehicle were traded in for a new 2017 Dodge Ram pickup truck, which is used for traffic control and other support measures.
A new command vehicle, a 2016 Chevrolet Tahoe, replaces a 2011 Chevy pickup truck, and was purchased by the fire company.
The last vehicle, a 2013 Carolina Skiff 18-inch boat, was donated to the department by a lifetime member of the Lakewood Fire Department. It is valued at $21,000.
Hallberg said the new fleet will not only be more reliable during emergencies, but more effective because of its better technology. An example, he said, is the fire engine's computerized pump operation that has water pressures already pre-set.
"If you have two or three different lines being used and a firefighter shuts off one or two, it doesn't put all the extra pressure on the other line," he said.
Hallberg added that Cummins Inc. donates the engines for the big trucks because their area is covered by the department.