Albany city commission approves the purchase of four new fire trucks

Fire Chief Scott is excited about the new units

ALBANY, Ga – The City of Albany is making big moves when it comes to first response as the city commission held a vote late Wednesday afternoon regarding the purchase of four new fire trucks…

In a special called city commission meeting Wednesday afternoon, commissioners approved the use of SPLOST dollars to purchase new trucks for the Albany Fire Department…something fire chief Cedric Scott says is right on schedule with units that are nearly 20 years old.

“Right now, we don’t have any that are past regulation, but we have those that are in line to be part of the replacement strategy. And, we have those now that have reached that time for a replacement, and now we can begin to move forward and move those out of fleet,” said Chief Scott.

According to Chief Scott, the fire department ideally keeps trucks on a minimum 15 year life span before looking for new units.

Scott says that having these new units will be a benefit when it comes to response time.

“Those vehicles begin to age, and then it requires more maintenance, which keeps them out of service, we want them in service, so that we can serve the community. So, it allows us to continue to serve the community in a way that we can be proud of and have a good, dependable unit to arrive on scene,” said Chief Scott.

But, more than anything, Albany’s fire chief is thankful to the city commission for putting the well being of Albany’s residents in a crisis at the forefront.

“We are so appreciative of our city commission and our city commissioners, for continuing to support public safety and we want to thank the community and the citizens of this great community for continuing to support public safety and our firefighters and the work they do every day,” said Chief Scott.

While these new fire trucks are still a few years away from hitting the road, Chief Scott is thankful that the city was able to come to an agreement, and make sure the quality of first response in the good life city stays the same.

Chief Scott tells us the fire department is hoping to have these trucks ready for service by 2026.

Brian Roche reporting.

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