LAUREL HILL — Engine 52 is ready to serve residents protected by the Almarante Fire Department.
Thursday afternoon, the new, $250,000 truck pulled into Winn-Dixie’s Crestview parking lot, where Almarante firefighters, supporters, family members and county officials cheered.
“It’s a treasure for us,” Almarante Fire Chief Charles Carroll said. “And we got it at almost zero cost to the taxpayers.”
The department purchased the engine with a FEMA Assistance for Firefighters Grant, which covered 95 percent of the cost. Almarante put up $12,500 toward the remainder.
It is the first new fire truck Almarante ever owned, Carroll said.
“This is brand new,” Carroll said. “It was built over the last six weeks on a brand new 2016 Kenworth chassis. It’s going to be a fine truck.”
The Kenworth, built by Deep South Fire trucks of Seminary, Miss., replaces Almarante’s oldest fire truck, a 1983 model that must be retired due to its age.
“We’ll be retiring it and selling one other truck off,” Carroll said. “We’ll be streamlining our fleet because now we have some really fine equipment.”
Okaloosa County Commissioner Wayne Harris congratulated Carroll on the achievement.
“The leadership of this department is phenomenal,” Harris said. “They have worked so hard to bring the district up to this level.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Fire department in Laurel Hill acquires first new engine