Pasquotank County will be paying a lot more for a new fire truck for the Nixonton Volunteer Fire Department than it initially planned, dailyadvance.com reported.

When the county initially ordered a new fire truck for the Nixonton VFD in March 2021, the cost was $392,655, the report said. But county commissioners unanimously voted Monday night to execute a change order for the truck that hikes its price to $636,100 — an increase of $243,445, according to the report.

The county’s cost will be offset by a $100,000 grant that the Nixonton VFD received from the Cannon Foundation on Tuesday, a county official said.

Commissioners made the change after hearing that the new fire truck may not start production until late 2024 to mid-2025 because of a lack of available commercial cab chassis, the report said. Because of the shortage, the new fire truck will be fitted with a custom-cab chassis costing the extra $243,000, the report said.

Manteca City Council Tuesday directed staff to secure two fire engines at a combined cost of $2 million, mantecabulletin.com reported.

By the time those engines arrive in Manteca to be put into service, the oldest engine in the backup fleet will have turned 29 years old, the report said.

Delivery time for new fire engines will be anywhere between two and three years, according to the report.

The tiller truck carries a price tag of $1,707,772 that the council locked in last year, the report said.

Rosenbauer—Nashville (TN) Fire Department eight pumpers. Commander cabs and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engines; Hale Qmax 1,500-gpm pumps; polypropylene 750-gallon water tanks; Dealer: NAFECO, Decatur, AL. (Photo by Paul Barrett.)

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U.S. investigators suspect that a Tesla was operating on an automated driving system when it crashed into a fire truck in California last month, killing the driver and critically injuring a passenger, abc7news.com reported.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday it has dispatched a special crash investigation team to look into the Feb. 18 crash in Northern California where emergency responders had to cut open the Tesla to remove the passenger, the report said. Four Contra Costa County firefighters had minor injuries.

The probe is part of a larger investigation by the agency into multiple instances of Teslas on Autopilot crashing into parked emergency vehicles that are tending to other crashes, the report said.

The $1.4 million ladder truck was damaged in the crash on Interstate 680. The truck was parked to shield a crew clearing another accident, fire officials said.

The driver of the the 2014 Tesla Model S was declared dead at the scene.

NHTSA is investigating how Tesla’s Autopilot system detects and responds to emergency vehicles parked on highways, according to the report. At least 15 Teslas have crashed into emergency vehicles nationwide while using the system, the report said.

• Tesla Driver Killed After Plowing into Fire Truck on CA Freeway