In typical fire department fashion, Reverend Father Paul Lemoi blessed the new truck with holy water. The firefighters performed the ceremonial transfer of water from the old engine to the new vehicle before fulfilling another tradition of having the firefighters push the engine backwards into the station garage. And just like that, Engine Company 3 was ready to go.  

The town purchased the new engine for $545,575 with the help of a $337,819 federal grant through the Federal Emergency Management Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) grant program, which has been around for over 16 years.

The new fire vehicle is not your typical fire truck. A mini-pumper demonstration unit, it is smaller and more maneuverable than the district’s larger trucks, requires less personnel, and is better suited for the needs of Point Roberts, said fire chief Christopher Carleton. The new unit has a 2018 Ford F550 chassis with a 300-gallon water tank, 25-gallon foam tank and a pump capacity that is the same as the larger engines. It also provides compressed air foam capacity and will carry three ladders. “This gives us a very flexible, maneuverable and adroit first line engine that will continue to be backed by our larger and much older (23 and 27 years of service) traditional pumpers,” Carleton said. “With it we can respond to essentially any of our principal risks, reach it quickly and hold it in check until additional help is mobilized if and how required.”

The move is part of an effort by the county to have quicker ambulance response times in northern DeKalb. The ambulances could be dispatched throughout the county, however.  

The City Council approved a 2018 budget amendment from the general fund balance for the purchase of the property at the Oct. 23 meeting. The resolution authorizing the budget amendment also authorizes the city to spend $180,000 to renovate the former convenience store as needed for EMS personnel to work there.

"The last couple of years, if you've noticed, the growth out here is just staggering," said Phoenix Fire Chief Kara Kalkbrenner. "It's like their new residential homes, new commercial homes, traffic on the freeway."  

Firefighters were seeing an increase of calls to the Fireside neighborhood, making this new site the perfect place for the 10,500 square-foot fire station.

Until the project is complete, responders have been working out of a temporary station -- the Residence Marriott hotel.