Moultrie Fire Department amping up fleet with new addition

MOULTRIE, Ga. – The Moultrie Fire Department has a brand new addition: A $274,764 fire truck.

Moultrie fire Department’s fleet is nearly complete with the addition of an E1 commercial four-door rescue pumper.

The truck hauls 1,000 gallons of water and can blast that water out at 1,500 gallons per minute. 

The truck also features deeper compartment space for more equipment storage.

“It’s designed to haul more equipment for rescues and stuff like that, it’s exactly what we needed at a time that we needed it,” says Fire Chief Jeff Thibodeau.

Before the new rescue pumper came along, the department didn’t have any reserve trucks to tag in when frontline trucks were down.

So now, with an older ’89 model truck in reserve, the new truck is working the front lines.

Thibodeau says, “The new E1 is a frontline truck, that’s the way we’re running it, and they’ve responded to several calls. Fortunately, we have not had to use the pump yet on any house fires and that a good thing. But it is fully equipped and ready to go for any emergency we have in the city or the county.”

Since the truck is going out on calls during this pandemic, the department is performing extra cleaning measures to ensure it stays clean and the firefighters stay healthy.

Periodically, frequently touched areas are sprayed with disenfectant.

“The guys are also wearing safety glasses, face masks and gloves any time they have contact with any patient or person and that’ll help prevent cross contamination from the patient to us.”

None of Moultrie’s fire fighters have been infected with COVID-19 and fire chief Thibodeau says he hopes it stays that way as they go about their duties in their truck.

Samantha Cook, South Georgia tv.

The department is expecting a custom cab fire truck near the end of the year