The 12,999-square-foot station includes pods for each company within the fire department, explained David Slattery, of Slattery Tackett Architects, LLP, the architectural firm that designed the building. For example, emergency medical responders and the ladder company each would have a pod.

Brawner compared it to a college dorm room with a sitting area and then bedrooms in a suite. That will provide individual privacy, he added, noting the responders include men and women.

Until now, dispatchers have dispatched a call to the fire department as they always have. The dispatcher receives a call about an emergency, once the call is completed the dispatcher then alerts the stations nearest the scene.  

It is expected that the new system could reduce the response time for firefighters anywhere from 25 seconds to a minute or more depending on the length of the call made by someone and the details they are providing.

The system alerts the station through screens about call description, location and an automated voicing system that will speak out the information.

The system also records and stores data that the department can review at the end of the year.  This only applies to the fire and EMS dispatches, not the police dispatch.

While more compact, the new truck still delivers full performance. A 13-liter inline-6 diesel engine and a bank of six 950-cold cranking amp batteries keep this truck and its 750-gallon water tank ready to respond. The pump is capable of pumping 1,500 gallons of water per minute, he said.

“These trucks provide better crew safety, too,” said Operations Division Chief Mike Matthews, who serves as the fire department’s fleet manager.

Matthews said this will be the first pumper in the fleet, and only the second overall, to have air bags in the cab.

A first-ever feature for the city’s fire truck fleet is the new truck’s Vehicle Information Center, a dash-mounted touchscreen interface that helps monitor all of the major systems and acts as a monitor for the forward and aft video cameras.

Fire Chief Scott McBride said the department paid about $700 total for two of them.

The technology will mostly be used as a way to control traffic where the speed limit is 25 to 35 miles per hour.

"We wanted to put it in the hands of the fire police because they are our first line of defense," said McBride.  "They're covering our backs while we're doing what we do!"