The De Soto Fire Department is getting a new firetruck.
City Council members voted unanimously June 27 to buy the new fire rescue pumper truck for $551,883.
The truck has been ordered and is being built, and the city won’t receive it for several months, most likely not until next year, De Soto City Manager Todd Melkus said.
Melkus said the city will allocate funds in next year’s fiscal budget, which begins November 1 and runs through Oct. 31, 2023, to cover the cost of the truck.
The rescue pumper is being purchased to replace one of the district’s existing rescue pumpers that was totaled in an accident several months ago. Losing that rescue pumper left De Soto with just one mini-pumper and one other rescue pumper.
Melkus said the Hillsboro Fire Protection District has loaned one of its rescue pumpers to the De Soto Fire Department to help cover its gap.
“I would really like to see a big thank-you given to the Hillsboro Fire Protection District. Since the day of the accident, they have let us borrow their pumper and we have had it ever since.”
The city of De Soto is buying the new firetruck from Banner Fire Equipment in Roxana, Ill.
Melkus said the city recovered some equipment from the truck that was wrecked and will install it on the new truck once it is ready.
He said the new truck may need some other minor upgrades that will be evaluated when the truck has arrived.
Melkus said the City Council members held a special meeting to vote on the purchase because they didn’t want to delay the production of the truck by waiting until the next regular council meeting on July 18.