"It will take a week to prepare the new pumper before it can be put into service," Blackfoot Fire Department Lt. David Lewis said. "We need to find where all the tools fit and put in mounting brackets to mount them." "The pumper is 33 feet, 9 inches in length, weighs 21 tons and is nine feet-10 inches in height," he said. "It will hold 1,000 gallons of water and can pump 1,250 gallons per minute. Everyone can face forward in the cab and there is enough room in it that multiple people can have their breathers on and be ready to go."

Fire Chief Jay Delaney said the city once owned three ladder trucks, but is now down to one 2003 model that is frequently out of service because of breakdowns, and parts are hard to come by because the manufacturer went out of business.  

Delaney said ladder trucks cost between $900,000 and $1.5 million, and he’s been seeking funding sources for a new truck for the past three years.

Last month, the city applied for a $1,274,000 Local Share Account grant to fully fund the purchase of a ladder truck, but they weren’t optimistic that the Commonwealth Financing Authority would approve a grant in the full amount, if at all.