Rock Community Fire Protection District’s newest firetruck was expected to go into service this week, said Mike Shafferkoetter, the district’s assistant chief of operations.
Shafferkoetter said Rock Fire received a 2026 Pierce Velocity pumper truck on March 30. He said the district paid $1,043,000 for the truck.
“We are currently working to mount equipment and hardware, and are planning on it going into service by next week, barring any issues,” he said April 23.
The pumper will be stationed at House 3, 3540 Lonedell Road, west of Arnold.
Shafferkoetter said the new truck replaces a 2011 Pierce Velocity, which will be moved into a reserve role and kept at House 5, 3749 Telegraph Road, in Arnold. He said the district will then sell a 1998 Pierce Dash pumper truck, which Rock Fire had been using in a reserve role.
The 2026 truck is the first of two new trucks Rock Fire has purchased with money from a $20 million bond issue, which was called Proposition Safety that voters approved in April 2025. The district sold $12 million worth of bonds in February.
Rock Fire will pay $1.7 million for a 2026 firetruck that has a 75-foot ladder. Shafferkoetter said the district expects to receive that truck by late May or early June.
He said the new ladder truck will be stationed at House 1, 1533 Jeffco Blvd., in Arnold, and it is replacing a 2006 Pierce Dash that has a 75-foot ladder.
Shafferkoetter said Rock Fire has two 2006 Pierce Dash ladder trucks that were bought at the same time.
“Right now, one of those (ladder trucks) is running as our primary ladder truck from our Station 2 (1533 Jeffco Blvd, in Imperial) and the other is in reserve,” he said. “Once the new ladder is in service, one of the 2006 ladders will be sold, keeping the second as a reserve. The new ladder will go to Station 1, and the ladder that is currently there will be moved to Station 2.”
Shafferkoetter said it is important for Rock Fire to have a consistent schedule to replace firetrucks.
“Our fleet is put on a 15-year service rotation and after that, they are placed in reserve status,” he said. “With the amount of time it takes to build a firetruck, along with being fiscally responsible, we have had to extend the life of our apparatus.
“Being able to place this new pumper in service, and to be able to replace a nearly 30-year-old piece of equipment gives us the confidence of not worrying about breakdowns and switching our crews into a possibly unreliable apparatus. Twenty years of service as a primary (ladder) truck is a lot. Replacing a 20-year-old apparatus increases the reliability of our fleet.”
The new pumper truck will be available for people to go through during Rock Fire’s open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at House 5.
One of the first things people will likely notice about the new truck is a different paint scheme. The new truck is green and dark gray, instead of the district’s green-and-white paint scheme.
Shafferkoetter said the district was asked if it wanted to go away from its traditional green paint to the more common red paint for its new truck. He said Rock Fire personnel were strongly in favor of keeping the truck green, but the district was ready for a change.
“The vote strongly leaned to a slight change, keeping with our unmistakenly green paint scheme but added the dark grey,” he said. “We plan to phase in the new paint scheme with the replacement of aging apparatus so it will be some time before our entire fleet has the new look.
“That is with the exception of one of our apparatuses that is currently receiving repairs at the manufacturer. We are discussing having the paint scheme changed since we will have to have two-thirds of the truck repainted already.”
Bond purchases
The new trucks are two of the three major purchases Rock Fire has made with money from Prop Safety.
The district on Feb. 17 paid $2 million for Rockport Baptist Church, 3761 Telegraph Road, in Arnold. The church property is next to Rock Fire’s House 5.
On the same day the district purchased Rockport’s property, the Baptist church finalized a deal to pay the Holy Family Catholic Parish $1.75 million for that parish’s Tenbrook Road campus at 2334 Tenbrook Road, which was home to the old St. David Catholic Church in Arnold.
According to Rockport’s website, the Baptist church will hold its final worship service at its current location on May 10, and the church will hold its first worship ceremony at its new location on May 17.
Rock Fire officials said the district will convert the Rockport church property into a training and community center.
Chief Keven Wingbermuehle previously said the center provides a place for firefighters to train and the district to hold CPR classes and other community education programs.
On April 23, Wingbermuehle told the Board of Directors that Rock Fire will have an engineer evaluate the Rockport Church to determine if it may be renovated to use for the training and community center, or if the district will need to build a new building.
“I have very strong concerns with the condition and age of that building and that it will not fit our needs, but we want to do our due diligence,” he told the board. “We will have them look at it and see what their thoughts are. I don’t think we will end up keeping that building (the church), but I want an independent set of eyes on it.”
Rock Fire is preparing to issue requests for qualifications for engineering and architecture services for the training and community center project along with renovation and repair work at three of the district’s houses.
Wingbermuehle told the board the district also will use bond money to repair a front wall and concrete pad at House 2; build walls between beds in the bunk room and renovate a bathroom in House 4; and renovate the entrance area at House 5 and repair a water-damaged wall in that house’s bay.
The House 5 renovation would include moving the reception desk behind a glass window and locked door to the left of the entry way, which would relocate the fire marshal’s office; close the mezzanine over a meeting room; and renovate the entry way to serve as a history area.
Wingbermuehle told the board the family of Sylvester Ganglof, the first chief when the Rock Community Volunteer Fire Association was formed, is donating a 1914 Brunswick pool table that was used by RCVFA.
He said he would like the pool table to be part of the display of historical items at House 5.
Board members on April 23 tabled issuing an RFQ for engineering and architecture services because Rock Fire officials are discussing hiring an owner’s representative to oversee the planned capital improvement projects funded by the bond issue.
Owner’s representatives typically monitor work being performed and review potential change orders that may increase the cost of projects.
“We are discussing the cost vs. benefit of hiring an owner’s representative,” Shafferkoetter said. “Once that decision has been made, we will proceed with the RFQ (for engineering and architecture services) with the possibility of a second RFQ for an owner’s representative.”
Shafferkoetter said Rock Fire is looking forward to starting the various projects that will be paid for with bond money.
“Several of these projects were previously deferred due to resource constraints,” he said. “The voter approval to the 2025 bond has enabled us to move forward with tangible progress.
“We have established a tentative timeline and look forward to the upcoming execution phase. Beyond the necessary facility repairs, there is significant enthusiasm regarding the development of the community safety center and the new firefighter training facility. We anticipate a productive 2 1/2-year window that will position the district for future success.”