New fire trucks are on the way to Palm Coast but the city is hoping to add one more.
- Palm Coast getting two new fire trucks
- The fire trucks will be used as part of a backup fleet
Courtney MacDonald lives near the fire station that will be home to one of the city of Palm Coast's new fire trucks. She’s had to call for help herself in the past.
“In a year of living here, just a smell of smoke at my house and they got there within minutes and they were great. And I think that's because equipment that they have,” said MacDonald.
Last year, the city approved the purchase of two new commercial trucks built from long haul trailer trucks.
They will be used as backup to fight fires on the frontline, for training, and for volunteer firefighters to use.
Now, the fire chief told council members they'll need one more to secure a backup fleet at a cost of $260,000 from this year's budget.
“I sat down and thought about that commercial concept, looked at it, looked at the cost factor, looked at the money we had and realize these would probably do the job we needed them to do,” said Chief Mike Beadle.
Currently, the city has about 13 trucks in their fleet. Some are custom-made, which costs a lot more than commercial trucks – they can have a price tag of $425,000 or more.
The difference is the frame of the truck and the life but the chief said having a backup fleet for emergency is most important right now.
“As well as saving money and putting money where it really needs and we're getting a lot of bang for the buck,” said Chief Beadle.
Now it's in the hands of the council and Macdonald is hoping it’ll be approved.
“They absolutely deserve the new equipment,” said MacDonald.
The council will likely vote on the issue next Tuesday. The already-approved trucks are being driven to the city from South Dakota within a week.