WAYNE COUNTY (WWJ) - New state-of-the-art emergency response vehicles will replace aging equipment in an effort to better serve the citizens of city, the Detroit Fire Department said on Friday afternoon.
The new fleet, which includes 6 fire trucks, 10 ambulances and two ladder trucks, came at the tune of $7 million; funding for the new vehicles was raised between two city bonds and allocated by Mayor Mike Duggan.
Fire officials told WWJ's Ryan Marshall that the latest vehicles will make emergency response times faster and decrease the average age of the current fleet.
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The new equipment updates the age of the fleet to almost four years old as of Friday.
Detroit Fire Department Commissioner Chuck Simms told WWJ's Ryan Marshall that he was pleased with the new, upgraded equipment.
"This just show the commitment of Mayor Duggan as well as fire administration to ensure that our first responders, our firefighters and medics, have the proper equipment they need to respond to the citizens of Detroit," Simms said.
According to WWJ"s Ryan Marshall, the new equipment will also raise morale of first responders by showing firefighters and EMS personnel that city management and the department care about supplying them with the best tools to perform their jobs.
One firefighter told WWJ's Ryan Marshall that the upgrades are a welcome relief.
"Everything works, everything is functional," he said. "Great lighting at night. You know a lot of the old rigs, a lot of things just wasn't working no more."
The new vehicles will not be the last upgrades planned for the Detroit Fire Department; another allotment is scheduled for next year which will include another 6 ambulances and 12 fire trucks.
