The Perryville Fire Department has added a new truck to its fleet.
No, it’s not a fire truck, but something that Perryville Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Major Bill Jones said is much needed.
The Perryville Board of Aldermen approved the purchase of a Ford F-150 truck at its last meeting to be used for several reasons.
“It helps us transport additional personnel to and from the fire scene as well as help with our clean cab concept in our fire trucks,” Jones said.
The concept involves taking off the fire gear that is filled with soot and smoke and put that somewhere outside the cab of the truck instead of getting into the cab with clothing that has carcinogens on it.
“This is a way to get all that gear back to the station and separated to be washed,” Jones said. “We had this in the works for several years, but because of supply chain issues, they haven’t been available very quickly.”
Jones said that the department has changed the way that it looks at accountability and incident command. In years prior, the department was searching for a large SUV to fill this need. However, with the change in policy, the needs were changed to a truck.
“We could still have used an SUV, but we would get more use out of a truck,” Jones said. “A four door pick up holds the same number of people. People will say that the SUV has a third row, but with all the equipment that space is taken. This truck can haul people, we can use it as a command post and use it to transport the dirty fire equipment and hose.”
Jones said that the truck is being purchased at a price less than was budgeted and was purchased from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
“We get the complete service record with it,” Jones said. “This vehicle was being used by the Commercial Vehicle Inspectors and it wasn’t likely that it saw many pursuits. They carry mostly equipment they use for those type of inspections like scales.”
The truck also has the “responders package”
“It has the law enforcement motor and transmission and heavier brakes,” Jones said. “We are fortunate to get it, especially for the price. It fills a need and will be something we will have for a long time.”
The Missouri State Highway Patrol is currently decommissioning the truck and removing all its markings. Jones estimates that the truck will be in Perryville within the next week or so.
“We will bring the truck to have our graphics put on it and it should serve this community well for years to come,” Jones said.
