PRESS RELEASE
Hall County Fire Rescue received eight new fire engines last week, completing the three-year plan to overhaul the outdated engine fleet.
“Public safety is one of the most important services local government provides, and ensuring our public safety personnel have modern, dependable and efficient equipment is imperative to support their ability to provide those services,” said Hall County Board of Commissioners Chairman Richard Higgins.
The eight new engines are the second order in a multi-year financing and purchasing plan to replace the aging Fire Rescue fleet, a plan approved by the Board of Commissioners in 2020.
“Updating our fleet reduces our maintenance costs and downtime for servicing older engines, allowing us to deliver more reliable emergency services to the citizens of Hall County,” Hall County Fire Chief Chris Armstrong said.
This latest delivery was the second installment of a two-phase fire engine replacement program, with the first set of engines delivered in 2021. Now, all 16 engines uniformly provide new technologies such as low voltage LED lighting systems, additional compartment space for life saving equipment, hearing protection, intercom systems for firefighters and environmentally friendly clean diesel engines.
“Safer trucks mean safer citizens, safer firefighters and better services, and we’re grateful for the support we’ve received from the Board of Commissioners and citizens of Hall County in this investment in critical infrastructure that allows us to continue to deliver the highest level of services,” said Armstrong.
The new engines are currently being fitted with lifesaving equipment, hoses and tools, and are expected to phase in, replacing the older engines, over the next several weeks as they are completed.
The new engines come at a cost of $5.76 million, with funding coming from the Fire Services fund.
