Temple Fire & Rescue unveils new fire truck

After a more than year-long process, Temple Fire & Rescue’s new ladder truck rolled out of the Central Fire Station last week to start answering calls.

“Our equipment is at the heart of what we do, and this new truck offers state of the art tools that will help us as we respond to a variety of situations,” Fire Chief Mitch Randles said.

The $1.3 million ladder truck was built by Pierce Manufacturing in Wisconsin. A group of six firefighters, including Driver Bill Dean, made up a committee that designed the apparatus from the ground up.

“We designed everything on the truck how we wanted it,” Dean said. “It’s an interesting process. You see the truck from the time it’s eight wheels and a frame.”

The truck features a 100-foot ladder equipped with a large bucket for rescue operations. It also carries 500 gallons of water,  hose and other specialty and rescue equipment.

An auxiliary air-conditioning unit allows the department to store medications on the truck.

“Because we have paramedics on the trucks, we have medications that have to stay at a certain temperature,” Dean said. “When the truck is inside the station, the A/C will turn on to keep our medications the correct temperature.”

Though the truck has already been put into service, it hasn’t officially been dedicated yet. Temple Fire & Rescue will hold a push-in ceremony at 10 a.m., June 21, at the Central Fire Station, 210 N. Third St.