By Joelyn Hansen
The Idaho Falls Post Register
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — The Idaho Falls Fire Department’s new rescue truck fits into its vehicle bay at the downtown fire station with just inches to spare.
The truck is a little bigger than what the department needs right now, but given a few more years of growth in the city, Chief Dean Ellis said it will fit the department just right.
“We just plan for the future,” Ellis said. “The city will grow, and so we hope the department will grow.”
The new truck, purchased for $270,000, replaces a 1981 rescue truck, purchased for $83,743, which lasted 29 years. Ellis said he expects the new truck will provide the same length of service.
Capt. Lance Johnson said the department is excited to operate the new truck. It was put into service Wednesday to respond to all fires and most accident calls. The new truck holds more equipment, has more storage space and is overall more reliable. Johnson said that reliability will help firefighters provide more efficient and time-saving service to the public.
The extrication equipment is easier to access, which allows firefighters to speed up their response time in cutting someone out of a vehicle.
“When it comes to a serious extrication call, if you can shave off two minutes, that’s two minutes faster they get to the hospital,” Johnson said.
The truck also has a more powerful generator and has the ability to refill SCBA bottles, a breathing apparatus used by firefighters. Previously, extra personnel and equipment were needed at sites to refill the bottles.
Johnson said the new truck can transport up to five firefighters compared with only two in the old truck. The new truck’s lighting system can light up a city block faster, which is also an improvement.
Ellis said the old truck, which was the department’s oldest, served the station well for many years and that it will be sold at auction.
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