They are there for emergencies, but Augusta Fire Officials say their rigs need to be ready to run, and not sitting at the repair shop.
“It’s extremely important so the impact of any change in that or any improvements of that directly correlates to the safety not only of our firefighters but to our citizens,” said Fire Chief Antonio Burden.
But the Fire Chief’s request is extremely expensive, almost $7 million in Rescue Act funds to upgrade the fire fleet, that would use up almost all of cities remaining unassigned Rescue Act funds. “I think there will be some wheeling and dealing today, we may try to five him part of it but I don’t see six million dollars,” said Mayor Pro-Tem Bobby Williams. “We need to be giving the fire department something, but I question the funding source because of the usage of those funds according to the guidelines by the federal government,” said Commissioner Jordan Johnson.