To help fight fires in Salinas and surrounding cities, the Salinas Fire Department has purchased a new ladder truck. Up until now, the department only had one ladder truck, but through money raised by Measure G, they purchased the new piece of equipment.
"Officially today, Ladder 2 goes into service to help keep people safe in our community," Salinas Fire Chief Ed Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez has been pushing for a new ladder truck for two years. The truck cost $1.2 million.
"It just gives us the operational capacity that we just didn't have," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez cites instances in the past, such as the Dick Bruhn building fire, when the city desperately needed two ladder trucks.
"When you need a ladder truck, you need it right now," Rodriguez said. "People trapped, people stuck in a piece of machinery, people stuck underneath vehicles, structure fires, collapses. So they really go to the worst of the worst."