The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners recently approved spending about $6 million on four new aerial ladder trucks for the Fire Services Department.
The trucks are funded by the 2017 special purpose local option sales tax program. The sole-source contract went to Sutphen Corp., which manufactured Gwinnett fire trucks that will be replaced with the new ones according to a plan.
The trucks have 95-foot ladders, Fire Chief Russell Knick told commissioners. They provide more water from an elevated position and have platforms that improve rescue capabilities, Knick said.
“We have 12 of these trucks that operate each and every day,” he said. “They’re an important part of our response fleet.”
Commissioners also approved $1.8 million from various SPLOST programs to remount eight ambulance bodies on new chassis. In a news release, the county said the remounting will extend the ambulances’ use and ensure their reliability. It is the second purchase from a sole-source contract approved in March with Life Line Emergency Vehicles.
The department has 33 ambulances that last year transported more than 44,000 patients to area hospitals, Knick said.
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Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC