El Dorado FD introduces new fire engine
The El Dorado Fire Department formally introduced its new fire engine to the community earlier this week with a traditional “push-in ceremony.”
The ceremony was held Tuesday at EFD Station 2 on West Hillsboro.
The fire department took possession of the new pumper truck a few weeks ago following a year’s lead time for purchase and delivery.
The new truck replaced a 1992 model that has been sold at an auction.
The 2024 pumper truck was used in a response to a house fire on Feb. 3, its first day in service.
“We had it three or four weeks before that. It took us a while to get everything on it and everything installed, the radios and everything, before we could actually get it in service,” Fire Chief Chad Mosby said.
When the EFD initially sought bids on a new truck in 2022, the lead time then was 12 to 36 months — a holdover from supply chain bottlenecks that arose across the nation and the world during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As it ended up, this truck was a truck that was in (the manufacturer’s) queue that became available and it took a little over a year to get it and get it in service,” Mosby explained.
The EFD typically maintains its fire trucks for 25 to 30 years.
When a truck rolls out of the EFD’s regular fleet, it is used as a reserve engine for a few years before it is taken out of service and replaced.
“The last one we got rid of was 32 years old. We try to take good care of them so they’ll last the duration,” Mosby said.
“Being able to replace a 30-year-old truck is … it’s always good to have a new vehicle. All in all, our fleet looks really, really good,” he said.
The EFD has five pumper trucks, one at each of its four stations and a reserve engine, and a ladder truck.
Mosby said the latest purchase follows the EPD’s multi-year vehicle replacement plan, which was drafted several years ago at the request of the El Dorado City Council/ Finance Committee.
“We presented (the plan) to them and they’ve been agreeable to that plan up to this date and hopefully, it will stay that way,” the fire chief said.
“Fire trucks, like other equipment, are getting more expensive, so we prepare for large purchases a couple of budget cycles out so that we don’t have to make a large purchase all at once, all in one (annual) budget,” he continued.
As with all new fire engines and other equipment purchases, the EFD worked with the manufacturer to attain a budget price for the new truck and hammer out bid specifications to negotiate the price.
“We work with them on ‘specking’ the truck out in a way that is not only functional, but also economical, so we do a good job at not spending all of our money, if we can help it,” Mosby said.
To further save on costs, the EFD works to include within the purchase equipment, such as nozzles and hoses, to upgrade and outfit the trucks.
The cost of the new truck came to $702,687, which was significantly lower than the initial budget price.
On Tuesday, the community was invited to get a look at the new truck during a push-in ceremony at Station 2, where the new truck is based.
The firefighters’ tradition reportedly dates back to the 1800s when fire services used hand-operated water pumpers and horse-drawn mobile equipment.
Upon returning to the fire station after an emergency call, the horses could not easily back the equipment into the station.
Firefighters often disconnected the equipment and, along with other community members, pushed the equipment into the station’s bays.
The tradition remains a symbol of good luck for new firefighting equipment and the stations who use it.
The ceremony drew city officials, community leaders and local residents to Station 2.