The council members who sit on the public safety committee asked the department to provide them with data on its operations to help determine how best to allocate resources to improve response times, repair aging firehouses and vehicles, and provide proper overtime pay to employees. Councilman Brandon Scott demanded that Ford provide a detailed account of the conditions of all 38 fire stations across the city to avoid having to close any because of hazards, such as a decrepit roof that recently shuttered a firehouse on Reisterstown Road.  

The building was constructed in 1967 and has major electrical and mechanical problems, according to city officials. A 2015 evaluation commissioned by the city warned that the station sits below the federal government’s flood elevation standards and could become “inaccessible” after a major storm, preventing rescue crews from providing emergency assistance to surrounding neighborhoods.  

The fire department has also outgrown the station, said Fire Chief Virgil Fernandez.

The Sevier County fire chief says this was built to keep you safe, whether you are visiting or live in Sevier County.

"The far reaches of our response area, we can actually get to a little quicker. Before we weren't exactly centrally located. This is more central for us. That's what's going to help us the most," said Chief Stephen Whaley, Sevier County Fire Department.

This new facility was built to have living quarters. So eventually they hope to become a full-time paid fire department. Currently the department is made up of only volunteer firemen. 

Now that the new pumper has arrived, firefighters will use the previous pumper, which is 13 years old, as a reserve and sell the reserve pumper. The money from the sale will go toward the purchase of a new ambulance, he said.

The city is buying the new fire truck through a manufacturer loan program that cost $59,000 per year for 10 years at 3.38 percent interest, City Manager Jim Timonere said.