• Station 41 - 805 Pearl

• Station 57 - 13602 Memorial

• Station 63 - 5626 Will Clayton Drive

• Station 66 - 5800 Teague

• Station 72 - 17401 Saturn Lane

• Station 104 - 910 Forest Cove Drive

According to the city, the vehicle is valued at more than $1 million, but the price was reduced because it’s a “demo model.” As part of the purchase, the Taylor Fire Department traded in its old ladder truck, which had been in service for almost two decades.

Over the coming weeks, the city will finish outfitting and decaling the truck before putting it into service. Other items recently added to the fire department’s arsenal include a pickup truck, fire engine and ambulance. All of the latest members of the fleet will be housed at the fire station on Goddard Road.

He also highlighted the addition of high-tech heart monitors, a fire hose and a set of Jaws of Life hydraulic rescue tools. The moves are part of a citywide focus on public safety, Ziomek said.

The grant covers half of the total cost of the tools. Outfitting the truck involves a few sets of hand tools, two fire shovels, three specialized backpacks that hold five gallons of water, eight hoses, two nozzles, three dual radio harnesses.  

The grant was initially applied for in July 2018.The new truck is a Ford F550, which was sent to Canada where it was worked on to become a functional fire truck, a process that takes a couple months or so at the least.

The largest of GFD’s firetrucks weighs in excess of 80,000 pounds, fully loaded. Smaller vehicles can carry 500 gallons of water to a site, some can carry 1,000 gallons, and the largest can carry up to 3,200 gallons. That affects the handling of these emergency vehicles.

The driving and maneuvering of one of these vehicles is only half of the training these firefighters need when they start. Learning to use all the equipment on a fire-truck is usually another week of instruction, Gunter said. Each truck is unique in what emergency equipment it carries, or it’s special unique function, whether it be carrying water, shooting water from a high elevation, or pumping.