Council members will vote at a future City Council meeting on whether to buy the $259,678 truck.

The two trucks the city has already purchased and that will soon be delivered will be used at Palm Coast Fire Station 25 — the main station at 1250 Belle Terre Parkway — and at Fire Station 23 at 5150 Belle Terre Parkway. Both of those trucks cost $256,678.

Beadle traveled to the South Dakota manufacturing plant that is building the two trucks earlier this month.

“We did the final inspection on those two trucks. We’re just waiting for them to come to Florida,” Beadle said. “We should have them in the station probably within the next month or so. …  We’re very impressed and very happy with the two trucks we just went up and saw.” 

The third truck, if the council decides to buy it, will be used at the Indian Trails station to replace Engine 21, which the city will keep but move into a backup position, Beadle said. Backup fire trucks are used when all of the frontline trucks are out on calls, or are being repaired. 

The two trucks that will soon be delivered and the proposed third truck are all built on a commercial chassis, like those used for long-haul trucking. Buying commercial chassis trucks, rather than custom-built fire trucks, saves the city about $200,000 per truck — bids for custom trucks ranged from $424,301 to $472,921 — but the commercial trucks last about half as long as custom trucks for daily frontline work, Beadle said. 

Mayor Thomas Koch on Tuesday said that he ordered full-time staffing for the fire department’s vehicle Rescue One beginning last Friday night. Rescue One carries specially-trained firefighters and the tools needed to respond to major incidents and emergency calls such as car accidents, building collapses and high-angle rescues.

Rescue One, based out of the department’s headquarters on Quincy Avenue, has been manned on a part-time basis since 2003, when the city took it out of full-time service as part of budget cuts.

“I think with all we have going on in the city, with the new construction and obviously we’re growing, it makes sense to have it in full-time,” Koch said.

For years, the Quincy firefighters’ union has been calling for the full-time restoration of Rescue One, a truck manned by two firefighters and an officer.

Quincy Fire Chief Joseph Barron said more firefighter training and gradual staff increases in recent years have put the city in a position to activate Rescue One 24 hours per day. As a result, 39 firefighters will be on-duty at all times across the city, an increase from 36.

Rescue One adds to the city’s fleet of eight engines and three ladders in service at all times.