The Mountain Home City Council gave its approval on May 21 for the fire department to purchase a 2015 Sutphen ladder truck from an Alabama fire apparatus dealer.
The 100-foot ladder truck is not expected to arrive until spring 2021. Once in service, the 2015 truck will replace a 1984 ladder truck that the city has used since 1987. That truck is so old that parts for repairs are no longer readily available.
"It's still passing certification, but there's only so many Band-Aids you can put on it," assistant fire chief Chris Quick said of the city's 36-year-old Tower 1 ladder truck. "It's my understanding that there's only three left (in operation)."
The 2015 Sutphen is presently in service with a fire department in New York state, and will be refurbished and repainted by Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus in Union Grove, Ala., once the vehicle is turned over to them in January or February.