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- PUB DATE: 3/27/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

Terry Richards
The Valdosta Daily Times, Ga.
(TNS)

Mar. 25—VALDOSTA — With flashing lights and blaring sirens, the latest addition to Valdosta’s firefighting fleet rolled into service Friday.

A new pumper truck, manufactured by the Sutphen Corporation, made its debut at the Valdosta Fire Department Station No. 1 at 106 S. Oak St. amid a crowd of city officials, firefighters, children and well-wishers. Fire personnel from Lowndes County, Quitman and Moody Air Force Base were on hand.

After an invocation, Fire Chief Brian Boutwell said the new truck is the first purchased with his input. Boutwell has headed the fire department for four years.

A vendor had contacted the department offering a “demo” unit that was being assembled, he said, but the vendor said the department would have to act fast or it could be sold to other interests.

Quick action by the Valdosta City Council in putting the truck on a meeting agenda and formally approving the purchase cut the usual wait time from 2.5 years to six months, the chief said.

The truck was ceremonially rolled back into one of the station’s bays manually by a crowd of school children wearing plastic fire helmets and assisted by a number of adults. Boutwell said the tradition dates back to the 19th century, when horse-drawn fire equipment couldn’t be backed into the bays by the horses and had to be done by hand by firefighters.

Shortly afterward, the truck rolled out of the station and into traffic.

Terry Richards is the senior reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times.

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