A new fire engine now graces one of the bays at the Corning Volunteer Fire Department, and soon a new 911 dispatch center will help the department better serve the city's residents.

On Friday, Shane Weissman of Shane's Autographics was at the department placing decals on the new-to-the-department fire engine that was purchased with volunteer firefighters budget funds.

The new fire engine replaces the department's old 1978 city-owned engine that was failing and had an excess number of miles on it.

Spannaus said the new engine still has a lot of good years on it and will be used to respond to city emergency calls and for out-of-city strike team assignments.

The engine joins the department's fleet of one ladder truck, one rescue squad, three fire engines, and one brush engine used to fight wildfires.

"The volunteer firefighters are excited about the purchase," Spannaus said. "As they are about the upcoming new dispatch upgrade. Their enthusiasm has been rekindled with the city voters' approval of Measure A. We are all very appr ciative of the passage of that measure and of the voters' support of the department."

The truck can hold 3,000 gallons of water.

It's the largest one at the airport fire station and the only one equipped with a snozzle - a tool that firefighters push into burning aircraft to shoot water inside.

But the government considers it to be at the end of its useful life, so it's being sold.

The airport's deputy director says even without it, the airport has enough firefighting capability.

“It's totally determined based on the size of the airplane that operates here at least five times a day and the length of that airplane,” TIA spokesperson Alexis Higgins said.

The airport, and ultimately taxpayers and passengers, pay the cost of fire protection on the airport grounds, so any savings in equipment and people eventually makes the airport more competitive.