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Worth the wait

Justin Addison Editor/Publisher
Posted 9/22/20

Friday was a day six years in the making. The Fayette Fire Department finally has a new ladder truck. Fire Chief Chris Baylor drove the 2004 Sutphen truck from Columbia, where it was purchased from …

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Worth the wait

Posted

Friday was a day six years in the making. The Fayette Fire Department finally has a new ladder truck. Fire Chief Chris Baylor drove the 2004 Sutphen truck from Columbia, where it was purchased from the CFD, to its new home in Fayette on Friday afternoon.

The department has been asking for a new ladder truck since 2014 when the 1980-model-year truck was deemed unsafe. The city council at the time opted to repair the aging ladder truck at a cost of $7,265.50. But even then the truck was judged as unsafe and therefore did not meet National Fire Protection Association standards.

The new truck came with a price tag of $150,000. The funds were drawn from the fire department’s sinking fund which was maxed out at $200,000. In addition, Central Methodist University upheld its pledge from 2014 to donate $30,000 toward the purchase.

The new truck sports a 75-foot ladder, which is needed to service taller buildings in town such as the courthouse and buildings on the Central Methodist campus. While the new truck is ready to be deployed in the event of a fire, the department is waiting for new hoses, nozzles, and fittings before it will be fully operational. The equipment is currently on backorder. Chief Baylor hopes it will arrive in the next month. The truck will also receive new decals.

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