This project involved over a year of preparation which included specification development, grant funding procedures and contract development.  The design team was present for all phases of apparatus construction including a final inspection with the manufacturer in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

Some of the new features and enhancements on the 2016 Heavy Rescue include:

• Cummins ISX, 15 Liter, 550 horsepower motor with 18 speed Fuller transmission
• 50-ton lift capacity
• Two (2) Turret winches were added giving the operator four (4) cables to use for recovery operation and load stabilizing
• “Vista Glow” amber light package added to better illuminate the apparatus during night time operations
• All LED scene and work lights
• Extended boom reach, which allows for 6-8’ additional extension
• “Load Limit” sensor added to boom. This system alerts the operator as to load amount being picked up by the rotator boom which will help prevent overloading and create a safer operating parameters
• Back-up camera

"Officially today, Ladder 2 goes into service to help keep people safe in our community," Salinas Fire Chief Ed Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez has been pushing for a new ladder truck for two years. The truck cost $1.2 million.

"It just gives us the operational capacity that we just didn't have," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez cites instances in the past, such as the Dick Bruhn building fire, when the city desperately needed two ladder trucks.

"When you need a ladder truck, you need it right now," Rodriguez said. "People trapped, people stuck in a piece of machinery, people stuck underneath vehicles, structure fires, collapses. So they really go to the worst of the worst."

The '60s were a much different time in both building construction and firefighting, said Assistant Chief Christopher Sadler. The trucks at the time were from around 1955, he said, and roughly 26 feet long by about 6.5 feet wide.

The new station is already addressing that issue by being placed slightly off Route 17 at the intersection of Dare Road and Constitution Drive, Sadler said. Currently, the firefighters have to hit a large red button by the station's garage doors to shut down traffic on Route 17 during an emergency.

Sisler said the new building should address the issues the firefighters are experiencing with Fire Station 1. He couldn't comment on specifics as the new station is only just entering its design phase, and still has yet to exist even on paper.

The county Board of Supervisors approved spending $554,530 from the Capital Improvement Plan to have a firm design the new structure at its June 21 meeting. The contract was awarded to RRMM Architects of Chesapeake.

The board approved $2 million to replace the station in the county's 2017 budget. The capital improvement plan includes spending roughly $4 million on the station in 2018. If approved, a total of $6,175,000 from fiscal year 2017 through fiscal year 2022 would go to the project.