Firefighters stripped their gear — hoses, hand tools, extinguishers, fans, nozzles — from the 2001 Kenworth in preparation for turning it over to the township, company President Chuck Miller said.

Firefighters drained the truck of water before surrendering it to the township around 6:45 p.m. Friday. Assistant Chief Dennis Stiokis drove it the short distance up Pillow Avenue from their station to the township building.

No one from the township was there to accept the truck. Firefighters said they were told to lock it and drop the keys in the mail slot.

Funds to purchase the new vehicles come from Metro’s budget, as it is a self-supporting, county entity, Metro Ambulance Director Clayton Cobler said.

“I can remember when we started out and we paid $32,000, and we thought that was ridiculous,” Cobler said.

The new vehicles will replace two in its current fleet of 18. The two taken out of service will likely be added to the county’s surplus property, Cobler said.

“We got five [ambulances] two years ago, and every one of them has over 200,000 miles on it,” Cobler said.

Cobler said Metro responds to an average of 90 emergency calls per day.

Over time, the price tag for each vehicle continues to increase beyond the initial cost of more than $70,000.

Firefighters are expected to start training on the new equipment this month. The city has purchased an additional four pumper trucks that are expected to arrive in March. 

The fire department is also sporting two high water vehicles, purchased by private donations, according to a news release from the department. 

With the daily wear and tear and harsh weather conditions in Erie, Chief Guy Santone says it's time to update the fleet.  "It's not like driving a car, when these trucks go out they are pushed... they are worked hard,"  Santone expressed the need for a new truck at the department's budget session with City Council last week.  

 A new rescue pumper or tower truck can cost anywhere from $750,000 to $1.2 million completely outfitted. "We would like to get on a program where we get a new fire truck every four years.  They were receptive to that and to what I had to say," Santone tells us. 

But the trucks are not only getting older, they are getting more expensive to fix.  Mechanic Judd Spaulding says, "they have 50 to 60 thousand miles on them but they are city miles, full throttle to complete stop, it's not highway easy miles on these trucks at all".