SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — The City of South Fulton is granting the local fire department a new truck, officials said in a press release. At a $1.1 million asking price, the new model will be replacing one of two aged ladder trucks operated by the city-- each at least a quarter-century old.
The City of South Fulton filed an urgent request on Tuesday to replace one of the two ladder trucks. While one of the trucks was still considered repairable, officials said that the ladder truck being replaced was past the point of repair.
“Build time for a ladder truck is 18-months and, due to the need, the city is buying a demo model that can be up and running in the next month,” Fire Chief Chad Jones said in a press release. “We will be pursuing purchasing another model at the end of this year.”
The new truck is expected to be placed into service at Station 11 on Fulton Industrial Boulevard in March, officials said.
The new ladder truck comes on the heels of a $1 million federal grant request made by the City of South Fulton Fire and Rescue Department back in Dec. 2021.
"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 told 11Alive's Dawn White in Dec. 2021.
The department inherited old and outdated equipment from Fulton County when South Fulton was founded in 2017. Now the department is working to replace or repair what they can.
“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.”
