Cedar Hill Fire Protection District’s new firetruck has finally arrived after a nearly three-year-long wait.
Last week, Cedar Hill Fire announced the new truck was delivered to Station 1 at 6766 Cedar Hill Road in Cedar Hill.
The customized firetruck cost $842,870, Assistant Fire Chief David Jones said, adding that the district received a good deal by paying upfront two and a half years ago.
He said the new truck will be put into service in early November.
“It’s going to take us a few weeks to get all the equipment, the radios, and other stuff mounted on (the new truck) and the guys have to train on it before we can put it in service,” Jones said.
The truck replaces a 1995 pumper/tanker, he said.
“We try to replace (district emergency vehicles) every 20 years, so we’re a little behind on this 1995 truck,” he said. “It’s almost 30 years old.”
The new truck, a 2024 Pierce Enforcer pumper/tanker has state-of-the-art, updated technology that didn’t exist in 1995, Jones said.
All the emergency lighting on the truck is LED instead of incandescent bulbs, and the truck can hold more water, at 1,400 gallons, he added.
The truck also has a compressed air foam system (CAFS) to match the district’s three other pumpers.
“The CAFS system mixes water, air and foam together, and it allows the water to stick and penetrate into what you’re applying it to,” Jones said.
He said the truck was made to the district’s specifications. Unlike everyday cars that can be purchased on the same day at a dealership, all firetrucks are custom-made to suit a district’s needs and therefore take longer to build.
“It takes a long time,” Jones said. “Across the board, no matter what manufacturer you order fire trucks from, it’s like that everywhere.”
Other new equipment
Fire Chief Mick Fischer said a 2000 Pierce tanker truck will be replaced in a few years, and the district already put in an order for the new truck in April. The district paid $686,354 for that new 3,000-gallon tanker, which will be placed at Station 2 at 8800 Hwy. 30 in Dittmer.
Fischer said the tanker will have a four-person cab instead of the customary two-person cab, which is what the district’s other tankers have.
The district will also have in-house staff update one of its three brush trucks for about $30,000, Fischer said.
The updates will include adding a CAFS system to match the other two brush trucks are expected to be finished by January 2025.
“We’re replacing equipment dating back to the 1980s,” Fischer said. “It’s becoming harder and harder to find replacement parts for the equipment.”