Bay City will put out bids for the truck through its purchasing department in the coming weeks, per the agreement.

"This is something we're extremely proud of," said Bay City Manager Rick Finn. "We're going to save $300,000 and Hampton is going to save $700,000, which is a big deal. But the even bigger thing to be happy about is that our government is reaching out and showing everyone that this city wants to work in partnerships with anyone interested in working with us. This is a perfect example of that."

Both municipalities are in need of a new aerial truck. Bay City's existing truck was purchased in 1995. Hampton Township's is even older, purchased in 1982.

In a county where aerial trucks aren't often used, the shared agreement makes sense, said Kerri Prieur, Bay City's fire chief.

In January 2014 firefighters responded to a electrical fire at Eversource Energy’s switch facility in Medway and was unable to combat the flames using traditional methods, according to Lynch. The department needed to call in a dry chemical truck from Boston's Logan International Airport to battle the fire.

Fire officials say no one was badly hurt. Four adults were taken to Rhode Island Hospital and two children were transported to Hasbro Hospital. The youngest victim was a six-month-old.

The project is set to move forward soon, as the City of Cullman has already purchased land to build on. In January, the city agreed to purchase 3.97 acres from Merchant's Bank, at a cost of $325,000. The property is located on Alabama Highway 157, beside the Merchant's Bank branch at 4855 Alabama Highway 157, just east of Piggly Wiggly. Officials have been eyeing the highway corridor due to its easy access and close proximity to the new retail and industrial growth on the north side of the city.

Earlier this year, the city set aside $163,000 to finalize a design for the station, and engineers worked with Cullman Fire Rescue to ensure the final plans fit the needs of the growing department. The new station will feature additional bays for vehicles, and officials believe the location is an optimum base to serve the economic and construction growth on the north side of the city.

The award of a new $1.1 million grant set to fund a dozen new fire fighters served as a major catalyst to get the project off the ground. The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant will be used to hire a total of 12 new firefighters, and the grant will fund those new hires for two years.

Cullman Mayor Max Townson said the project is a long time coming, and though construction is in north Cullman, noted it will improve response time across the city.

The council, which received an update about the fire station project from Brooks at its Monday night meeting, probably won't make any final decisions about the project until at least the winter, when it begins putting together next year's budget.

In the budget it approved last spring, the council declined to approve a $127,000 down payment on a roughly $2.2. million fire station, which has been under discussion for almost a decade, but set aside the same amount for design and construction work for the station. That work is now underway at a town-owned lot on U.S. Route 202, next to the former Carleton Woolen Mills building, which is the department's preference for a new site.

That amount, $127,000, was equal to the annual payments the town had been making on an unrelated 10-year loan, which was repaid last year. Because that $127,000 was freed up, Brooks has argued the project would not increase the town budget.