According to a report from The Gainesville Times, Hall County (GA) Fire Services (HCFS) have replace roughly half of its fleet of trucks with nine new vehicles, while construction and planning for the HCFS’s two new fire stations continues.
The HCFS began training on the new vehicles, which included eight trucks and one ladder truck, on January 26. The department hopes to have the new engines on the road by early February, said HCFS Chief Chris Armstrong.
Hall County spokeswoman Katie Crumley said the aerial truck, worth $1.1 million, was paid for by funds in SPLOST VII, while the engines were purchased with SPLOST VIII funds. Each engine is worth $740,300.
With the HCFS running 19 rigs daily, this move replaces nearly half the department’s fleet. Armstrong said there was not a set timeline for when the remaining fleet would need to be replaced.
Some vehicles in HCFS’s fleet were nearing 15-20 years on the road, which Armstrong said was beyond their normal life cycle. Of these trucks, Armstrong said the department may keep one for the training division; the department also needs a reserve fleet in case they have issues with another engine.
Armstrong also said that the aerial ladder truck is for the upcoming Station No. 17. In the meantime, construction has since begun on Station No. 1, with Armstrong predicting that it will be open and in use in October. The county broke ground for the station on November 17.
