The Little Rock Fire Department on Monday debuted $3.9 million worth of new rescue equipment — six firetrucks and an extra rescue vehicle.
Seven new rescue vehicles are replacing trucks the department has been using for 20 years, Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola said.
“With these new firetrucks, we’re going to be able to do a better job of keeping people safe, keeping people and their property safe,” he said.
The old trucks will be kept on hand in case one of the new vehicles is out of commission, and will be made available to communities around the state and country for “whatever effective life they have left,” Stodola said.
Outside the Clinton Presidential Center on Monday, where the fire department displayed the new vehicles, Stodola said the city bought $3.3 million worth of new firetrucks and an extra rescue vehicle.
“Thanks to Homeland Security we were able to add a rescue vehicle for $600,000," he said, raising the total cost to about $3.9 million.
A 2011 tax initiative covered the cost of the new equipment. “The commitment that was made in 2011 is now being realized here in 2015," Stodola said.
Little Rock Fire Chief Gregory Summers said the new trucks will help firefighters reach their response time goals: Firefighters aim to respond within four minutes, with full personnel and equipment arriving within 8 minutes, 90 percent of the time.
Summers said the city purchased the new vehicles from fire and rescue equipment manufacturer Sunbelt Fire because the company offers local service centers and emergency vehicle technicians.