The Port Washington Common Council last week agreed to buy a new pumper truck for the fire department, but it will be three years before it sees the $975,000 vehicle, ozaukeepress.com reported.

The truck, which will replace two engine trucks, won’t be delivered until 2026, officials said.

A city official said that it’s unusual for the city to order a vehicle without having the funding in hand, but noted that the city won’t be paying for it until 2026, when it will be in the city’s capital budget, the report said.

Pierce Manufacturing of Appleton (WI), which is building the truck, told the city the cost would increase by $28,328 if the vehicle was ordered after March 1, and the vendor, Cummins Diesel, was also expected to up the price in 2026 because the vehicle would require a new motor to be introduced that year to meet new emission standards, officials said, according to the report.

The Brushy Mountain Fire Department’s new 2022 Freightliner tanker fire truck arrived at the station March 3, journalpatriot.com reported.

The new truck holds 2,000 gallons of water, which is double the capacity of the 1984 fire truck it replaced, the report said.

A Brushy Mountain fire official said it was purchased for about $370,000, with about $260,000 of it borrowed, the report said. The department has conducted numerous fundraisers to help pay for the new truck and is continuing these.

This tanker will replace a 1984 GMC 1000 gallon truck, which the department is putting up for sale for $12,900 or best offer.

Hampton Volunteer Fire Company took delivery of a used tanker truck, the company said on a Dec. 22 Facebook post.

The truck needs to be equipped and lettered, and then it will be placed in service, the company said. With the addition of this tanker, HVFC will now have an engine rescue truck and tanker truck on each end of town to best provide fire protection services to our districts and neighboring districts.

HVFC also posted recently that it is donating a truck to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Alpha One Fire & Rescue.

If anyone would like to donate towards the transportation of the truck you can do so online at www.gofundme.com/f/fire-truck-transport-expense or checks can be sent to the Hampton Volunteer Fire Company Inc.

Coweta is already building a new fire station, but it won’t be done until late 2024, and that’s not soon enough.

Firefighters have been reporting illnesses like headaches and allergic reactions. An environmental assessment of the facility showed elevated levels of mold that were so high firefighters were advised to limit their exposure to the facility.

So now, the department is using rooms at a nearby hotel for overnights. It hopes to develop an interim plan that will allow the firehouse to be used once again until the new one is constructed.