Kuehn was killed in 2009 when a St. Paul ambulance was backing down an alley. She walked into the path and was backed over.

Her family members were present Tuesday knowing that much of the inspiration for the technology came from her death.

“You know the loss of my mom was devastating to our family,” said Lisa Kline, Margaret Kuehn’s daughter. “I also recognize how hard it is for the firehouse and whole department and I’m just very happy to hear that they’re embracing this technology and their going to get it installed and hopefully prevent this from happening in the future.”

The first Backsafe System is being donated and installed on Medic 19, the same unit that hit and killed Kuehn.

Fire Chief Tim Butler hopes to have it installed on all 70 city rigs within the next three years.

Both existing units are on life support and are unreliable at this point,” he said.

The city bought a Seagrave pumper in 2010.

“Our second newest major piece of apparatus is nearly 20 years old as well,” the chief explained.

Coldwater Mayor Tom Kramer said, from the council point of view, “what we are doing is the right thing to do in the long term. They cost money.”

City Manager Jeff Budd said payments are not due until delivery — June of next year for the pumper, and a year from now for the ladder truck — which is in the 2017-18 fiscal year. The council can decide whether to pay cash or finance.

The manager suggested the city could pay for the $573,103 pumper in the current fiscal year from the fund balance. It could then look at paying cash or financing the higher priced aerial truck. He estimated an annual payment of $180,000. That might be a good deal if current interest rates remain around 3.5 percent.

Budd pointed out the city, in anticipation of the major purchase of the ladder, has been building its fund balance to $3.9 million from its usual $2 million level.

The purchase does not take into account any money the city could realize from the sale of the two pieces of used apparatus being replaced. Chief Sherman said he plans to list these with brokers of used fire equipment.

The shiny new vehicles, equipped with the latest tech essential to saving lives in emergency situations, were made possible through Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs’ INVEST program — a $300 million initiative to invest in a multitude of projects with long-term benefits for citizens.

The initiative allocated $30 million to Orange County Fire Rescue, which was divvied up to provide funding for the construction of three new fire stations ($18 million); new apparatus and equipment ($7 million); and partial funding for a new regional fire training facility ($5 million).

Part of the $7 million for new apparatus was used to purchase 12 new rescue units — two of which were located to Station 33 at 1700 S. Apopka-Vineland Road and Station 35 at 7435 Winter Garden-Vineland Road.

Neither station previously had units in service 24 hours a day, and both were chosen after a study of calls for assistance from the previous three years revealed coverage gaps in West Orange County. OCFS also moved one of their 12-hour rescue units to station 37 in Oakland.