The vehicle proposed for surplus was previously passed down from the Brentwood Police Department after having been pulled from front-line service. After making some initial repairs, the Fire & Rescue Department was able to obtain an additional two years of service from the car, a 2008 Dodge Charger with more than 91,000 miles.

“Rather than sending a million dollar ladder truck if it’s not needed, we could have two people in the vehicle to respond,” Goss said. “It was so successful that we purchased a vehicle dedicated to that, using the other car as a back-up staff car.”

The Fire & Rescue Department recently received another backup vehicle from the Police Department to replace the vehicle that was proposed for surplus. The Kingston Springs Volunteer Fire Department requested the vehicle to replace their current assistant chief’s car, a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria with over 116,000 miles, which also responds to medical emergencies, but is in serious need of significant repairs.

The vehicle transferred as-is and no warranty was included or implied. Valued at current market for similar vehicles on surplus auction sites, the vehicle is valued less than $2,000.

The fire truck was taken apart, sanded and has been repainted a bright, shiny red. Inmates still need to touch up and paint the decals, then begin reassembling the truck.

The running boards will be painted flat black and red oak benches will be added to the back of old No. 3 for children to ride on. Windows and the truck’s wooden frames will be repaired and brass attachments are being polished.

“The game plan is to have the truck ready for the (Huntsville homecoming) parade in October,” bus repair plant manager Joshua Silcox said Wednesday.

The Huntsville Fire Department was able to raise funds to restore the truck, which hadn’t seen a new coat of paint since 1979, through a raffle over the summer. 

By taking advantage of the services the Ellis Unit’s bus repair program, the project is only costing a fraction of what it would have at a private business.

Sutphen Corp., an Ohio-based fire apparatus maker that built most of the city's current fire trucks, recently notified Petoskey officials that it has a 2016-model platform truck — which has been used as a demonstrator unit, and is equipped with a 100-foot aerial device — available for purchase. City leaders propose that the council authorize this truck's purchase at a cost of about $1.09 million.

The truck has logged about 15,000 miles — mainly from traveling around the country for demonstration purposes — but has not been used for firefighting. It would come with the same warranty Sutphen offers on a brand-new apparatus, and could be delivered to Petoskey in about four weeks if the city moves ahead with the purchase. The demonstrator model would cost about $100,000 less than a similar built-to-order truck, which would require about a year's time to be manufactured and delivered.

Petoskey Department of Public Safety representatives recently traveled to Ohio to inspect the truck, test-drive it and try out its aerial ladder and fire pump. City officials note that the truck meets Petoskey's specifications.

The truck's $1.09 million price tag reflects a $30,000 trade-in allowance for Petoskey's old aerial truck, and includes about $16,000 worth of equipment needed to put the truck in service.

Hours before Mr. Rahami’s name was released, the police discovered five pipe bombs near a train station in Elizabeth, detonating one of them overnight as they sought to disarm them. Before dawn, agents conducted a series of raids in the New Jersey city.

Law enforcement officers closed and evacuated the La Bottega Dei Sapori Deli Grocery and Sonia’s Beauty, a salon to the left of the restaurant, as well as HR Computer and Communication Services Inc.

Mr. de Blasio said New Yorkers should be prepared to see a large increase in police presence across the city.

“In the coming hours we are going to be able to say a lot more about what happened here,” Mr. de Blasio said Monday during an interview on “Good Morning America.” “It is certainly leaning more in the direction that this was a specific act of terror.”