The ambulance features a pressurized plastic tent and an air filtration system powered by a battery with a three-hour charge, according to Assistant Deputy Chief Paul Roszkowski.

The price tag of the pressurized tent — which can be installed in any standard ambulance — is $3,000. The city has one, and has ordered two more. The department eventually wants to have 13 tents, according to fire department spokesman Larry Langford.

Each air filtration unit, battery included, also costs about $3,000.

Once the other two tents are delivered and two more ambulances are equipped, the fire department plans to place them in strategic locations around the city that will allow for the fastest possible response to any neighborhood.

Grant money is being used to buy the tents, Langford said.

Two firefighters were taken to the hospital for treatment of their injuries. The driver of the minivan refused treatment. 

It's believed that while firefighters were searching the apartment complex for a possible injured person the suspect climbed up the rear of the fire engine. He ended up on top of the hose bed. He apparently rode the engine about 2 miles back to the station before he was found. Police say he's very lucky they weren't dispatched to an emergency call or the outcome could have been far more serious.

The demonstration showed the length of the rescue ladder along with an adjustable waterway with handles so firefighters can control the flow and direction of water.

The ceremony was held at Alamogordo's Fire Station No. 6, 3100 N. Florida Ave.

The new truck has a 75-foot quint ladder with a waterway that can flow 1500 gallons of water per minute to get those hard to reach places.  The new addition will provide emergency response to all areas of the community, but is designed specifically for responses to emergencies in the northern end of Alamogordo, So the primary district for fire truck No. 2 is everything north of 10th Street.

The vehicle is a 2016 Pierce Saber truck and was custom designed and engineered to meet the needs of the community.

The purchase of the vehicle was a major investment for fire safety for Alamogordo.  It was approved by the City Commission on Jan. 13, 2015 and cost $635,999. The funding came from a combination of city commission approved capital equipment replacement funds, state fire protection funding and state fire protection grant funding.

Ward said the grant program helped out tremendously in noticing there was a need in Alamogordo.