City Council looks to approve $18M for new fire trucks after stations forced to close

ATLANTA — A week after the city of Atlanta was forced to temporarily close three fire stations because of broken fire trucks, the Atlanta City Council is poised to spend more than $18 million to buy new ones.

Apparently, there’s such a backlog of cities buying fire trucks and big ladder trucks that even if they bought them today, it could take 24 months to get them.

Some 17 fire trucks are currently out of service forcing the temporary closure of three fire stations.

Those stations are now back open, even as Atlanta City Council and the mayor’s office are prepared to spend some $18 million to get new fire engines on the streets.

“It’s well past time to make a major investment in Atlanta Fire Rescue Department,” City Councilman Dustin Hillis said.

Hillis had two stations closed temporarily in his district.

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He’s been working on getting new trucks for years but now, working with the Dickens administration, they’ve agreed on $18 million for new vehicles with a request from two tax allocation district for millions more.

Nate Bailey of the Atlanta Professional Firefighters Association appreciates the money and told Channel 2′s Richard Elliot that the city is going to need that equipment.

“With the World Cup coming, this is going to be a great investment for the city to make sure that every fire station is operational,” Bailey said.

The proposed $18 million investment has wide support.

“We’re the largest fire department in the state of Georgia. We’re the highly densely populated area and we need this apparatus,” City Councilman Michael Julian Bond said.

But Hillis warns with the massive backlog of cities around the country needing new fire vehicles, even if the city pays for it now, it may not get them for a couple of years.

“At a very best-case scenario, we’re probably looking at 18 months, but more than likely 24 to 36 months just because of the space fire equipment is across the nation,” Hillis said.

The good news is that the city put a rush order on the repairs to those down fire trucks. All four should be on the street soon.

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