The drone will also be used for pre-incident planning of large commercial buildings within the city to get a "birds-eye" view of rooftops in the instance of a major fire.

The device was purchased thanks to contributors within the city - no tax dollars were utilized to make the purchase.

The fire department extended thanks to several individuals and groups on Facebook, including the Effingham Asphalt Company, Firefly Grill, Wal-Mart, Effingham Equity, etc.

The $1,008,700 apparatus will replace a 22-year-old aerial platform truck downtown at Kokomo Fire Department Station 1.  

Overall, the truck will include a longer ladder reach; a smaller “setup footprint”; more agility; a stronger gallons-per-minute pump; a significantly larger water tank; and a foam tank, according to Fire Chief Nick Glover.

“This ladder truck is the latest investment and addition to the Fire Department,” said Glover in an email. “It is the third fire apparatus purchased in just the past few years. The city also built two new fire stations and remodeled three additional stations in in the past few years.

The 20-year bond proposal is on the Aug. 7 ballot for township voters. Repaying the bond would cost about 0.33 mills. That would cost the owner of a $100,000 house about $16.50 a year.  

Most of the money would go to buying four new trucks. Those would replace five older trucks that the department would sell.