A grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will allow the Park Ridge Fire Department to replace a 21-year-old fire engine after attempts to obtain city funding reportedly failed.
According to the fire department, the $500,000 grant from FEMA's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program will allow for the purchase of a new, state-of-the-art 2017 fire engine, which will be assigned to crews at the city's south side station at Devon and Cumberland avenues.
The grant requires a $50,000 match from the city, the fire department said.
Fire Chief Jeff Sorensen said the engine that is facing replacement has nearly 130,000 miles and frequently requires repairs. Due to its age, many parts are not immediately available, leading to downtime periods that have stretched for more than a week at a time, Sorensen said.
Though he contends that service was not impacted, not having the engine available does present some concerns.
"There were days when we didn't have any backup vehicles at all," Sorensen said. "And that's a problem because if you have a large fire or multiple incidents and you have additional personnel come in, they won't have a vehicle to use."