SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — Many of the fire trucks and EMS equipment in the City of South Fulton have outdated technology and equipment that should have been replaced 10 years ago. This makes the vehicles, and what's inside them, at risk of possibly breaking down or not working, but the city is taking action.
The City of South Fulton Fire and Rescue Department applied for a $1 million federal grant Thursday to make sure they can keep people safe.
"At any given time, a tool can break, so you want to keep it maintained. You want to keep it new. We’re getting to that point where a lot of equipment is coming to the end of its life cycle," South Fulton Fire and Rescue Chief Chad Jones said.
Jones wants to make sure the old vehicles and equipment gets replaced before it impacts response times or his department's ability to serve the community.
“We’re looking at adding some equipment to engines likes hoses," Jones said. "We’re looking to upgrade our arson investigation tools and some safety equipment if we have to deal with civil unrest, active shooters.”
The department inherited Fulton County’s old and outdated equipment when South Fulton was founded in 2017. The City of Atlanta is also working to replace outdated apparatus.
Now Jones is hoping to use the grant to also update EMS units with equipment for cardiac arrest and heart dysrhythmia patients.
“We’re hoping to go with newer versions of extraction tools and not only save people’s lives, but also our environment," Jones said.
Supply chain issues are compounding the problem for South Fulton and other departments across the region.
“It's not like you can go to your local Auto Zone to pick up something," Jones said. "We do have vendors that we work through, but with the supply issues, sometimes it does take several days, two weeks to get a part in.”
Clayton County is facing issues like delays for new trucks. A pumper truck used to take about eight months to receive.
“The last pumper order we made, that's carrying about an 11 to 12 even 13 month delivery time right now. If you go to an aerial or a ladder truck that's being pushed out to 15 to 16 months just because of supply chain issues that manufacturers are struggling to get steel and aluminum and a lot of the things that they need to build these trucks," said Chief Laundry Merkison, with Clayton County Fire and Emergency Services.
Fortunately, Merkison said the department bought a lot of new equipment before the supply chain shortage.
"We have a fairly robust apparatus replacement program through our SPLOST funding, financing, as well as, the county budget process," Merkison said. "Since the beginning of 2020, Clayton County has recently purchased eight new fire engines, two new aerials, new heavy rescue, and 15 new ambulances at a cost of approximately $10.53 million."
The City of South Fulton should know within about two months if it gets the $1 million FEMA grant.
“If you can get a million dollars worth of equipment for $100,000, that's a win-win for the city, for the department, and for the taxpayers," Jones said.
National Fire Protection Association standards call for fire equipment to be moved to reserve after 10 years and taken out of service at 15 years. Some equipment in South Fulton is 20 years old.