The fire district commissioners approved putting two propositions on the April 26 special election ballot.

Proposition 1 allows the fire district to sell $825,000 in bonds. The commissioners plan to use the money to build a new fire station in the southern portion of the fire district.

Property owners would pay 40 cents per $1,000 of assessed value more in property taxes to pay for the bonds.

Fire district 13 includes about 126 square miles around Ephrata, and operates out of one fire station.

Burger has worked at the plant that makes fire trucks for 15 years. His brother works there, too. And his son, Chris, has been at the plant since he graduated.

“I just figured I’d get a good job right outside of high school and got comfy,” Chris Burger said.

The Smeal plant sits on the western edge of this village of 298 not far from Fremont, and it employs more people than that -- 313 on a given weekday -- in jobs ranging from the front offices to the production lines working on 45 to 60 firetrucks at a time.

The new fire engine, a Spartan Gladiator Pumper, is capable of pumping 1,500 gallons of water per minute and is fully equipped for structural firefighting. Because the firefighters provide service for aircraft emergencies at the Las Cruces International Airport, the apparatus is also equipped with aircraft rescue firefighting gear in compliance with Federal Aviation Administration requirements.

The vehicle was paid for through the City’s Vehicle Acquisition Fund. The engine replaces the 1980s era tender that was providing service at the airport.

If the engine had remained permanently out of service, Fire Chief Brian Lambel said it would have caused more strain on the existing tower ladder truck. The department would have been forced to pull various life-saving apparatus from other stations as well.

"By having the engine back in service permanently, this saves time, wear and tear on the tower truck and most importantly, we maintain fire apparatus for second and third calls that may come in at the same time," Lambel said.

Engine 13 is similar to the tower truck in terms of amenities, Lambel added. It also contains more heavy-duty extrication equipment.