The two trucks were purchased to replace two 17-year-old engines, in an effort to improve firefighter safety and reduce maintenance costs.
"The biggest benefit is the safety of our guys," Chief Jeff Stigall said. "It puts them in where they're out of the weather, puts them in where they're seat-belted in and safe in case there is an unfortunate accident."
One of the features on the new trucks includes side compartments that will hold all of the firefighter's equipment.
"The compartments were designed for the equipment that we carry," Stigall said. "The life expectancy of that is going to be a lot longer because it's actually bracketed."
The new trucks hold 1,000 gallons of water and have a pumping rate of 1,500 gallons per minute. Regular tanker trucks have a 2,000 gallon capacity and a pumping rate of 500 gallons per minute.
Other features on the new engines include a rehabilitation center to re-hydrate fire fighters, a 25,000 watt light tower and headsets in the cab to allow firefighters to communicate with each other clearly.
"Basically, the headsets will keep us from yelling to each other and drown out the engine noise inside the cab," Captain Rob Hackett said.
Hackett said keeping the new engines on the street and in service will be a big benefit for the fire department. The older engines were often off the street for maintenance repairs, according to Hackett.
"One of the things we were experiencing was high maintenance costs with our older engines," Hackett said.
Hackett said that the cost of repairing the older trucks was almost to the point where they could have purchased a new engine. The new engines cost $256,000 each.
Those firefighters who wish to drive the new engines will have to go through driver training over the next two weeks, according to Hackett.
The new trucks should be fully ready to be in service by the end of the week, according to Hackett.
