Montgomery shows off seven new fire trucks after $5M purchase
The City of Montgomery stopped traffic Thursday afternoon, lining Madison Avenue with seven new fire trucks.
Mayor Steven Reed said buying the new trucks, which cost more than $5 million, is part of his Montgomery Forward plan to improve public safety in the city. Had the city waited to buy the trucks, they could have cost as much as 35% more than they do now.
The trucks are the largest purchase in the Montgomery Fire Department's history, Fire Chief Miford Jordan said.
Jordan said the trucks are "something that we take great pride (in)."
"The City Council understood what we wanted to do with the Montgomery Forward initiative, and one of those things was to invest in public safety, and often when we think about public safety, we don't think about equipment," Reed said. "We don't think about some of the needs that we have, but when you have trucks that are over 20-plus years old, then it comes a time when they have not only gone past their life span ... they become more of a liability than they are an asset."
The new trucks represent the city's commitment to the public and to the fire department, Reed said, "because they're putting their lives on the line when someone calls 911."
The Montgomery Fire Department is one of less than .2% of fire departments that have been accredited. "We appreciate their professionalism, their commitment to excellence," Reed said.
Three of the fire trucks are equipped with advanced life support units, said Daryl Thornton, a district fire chief and emergency medical services administrator.
These three trucks go on medical calls and can start helping people in crisis within three to five minutes after the initial 911 call. The trucks have all the equipment that ambulances do, but they are not equipped to transport people. Each truck is staffed with at least one paramedic, Thornton said.
But the trucks can still perform any of the needs when it comes to fire emergencies. Each of the three trucks will be stationed in different locations on the outskirts of town, so any one of them can be at an emergency within five minutes.
The purchase of the new fire trucks is partially a thank you for the wonderful job that Montgomery firefighters have accomplished, the mayor said. "You know we've got your back as you've got ours, and that you know we understand when there's a need that we have to fill, we will do that," Reed said.
Alex Gladden is the Montgomery Advertiser's public safety reporter. She can be reached at agladden@gannett.com or 479-926-9570.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery shows off seven new fire trucks after $5M purchase
