April 10, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
The Cookeville Highway Station of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department will soon be getting a newer fire truck.
During Monday night’s meeting of the County Commission’s Emergency Services Committee, Fire Chief Donny Green said plans are to assign the 1992 truck purchased from the City of Smithville last week to Cookeville Highway to replace a 1987 truck there.
According to Chief Green, the fire department will follow a longstanding policy of addressing fire truck needs at county fire stations that have been waiting the longest for upgrades.
“My recommendation is that it (fire truck) be placed in the same manner that we have done in the past. That it go to the next station due an upgrade,” said Chief Green.
Although no vote was taken, members of the committee said they supported Chief Green’s decision.
The Smithville Aldermen last Monday night awarded the county’s bid of $30,000 to purchase the city’s oldest fire truck. The city has bought a new one to replace it.
“That truck is a 1992 model and has 17,000 miles on it. That is going to make us a good truck for a lot of years,” said Chief Green.
The 1987 fire truck currently located at the Cookeville Highway Station will now be relocated to the Austin Bottom Community Fire Hall to replace a 1979 model truck. Chief Green said the 1979 truck will replace the county’s 1974 reserve fire truck at the Main Station. The 1974 truck is expected to be declared as surplus property and sold at a later time.
The county bought the Smithville Fire truck with money from a USDA Community Facility Grant and still has enough funds to buy at least one and maybe two more fire trucks after having been approved for a second USDA grant.
Plans are to use the money from the second grant to purchase a truck for a new fire hall to be built in the Four Seasons Community.