Chief briefs Atlanta City Council on burned fire truck
ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - An Atlanta city fire engine which caught fire and burned should have been replaced a long time ago, according to Chief Randall Slaughter, who briefed members of the Atlanta City Council on the accident.
The incident happened Friday night, just minutes after a crew picked up the truck, which had just been in the shop to be repaired.
Smoke erupted into flames so quickly, firefighters realized they did not even have time to try and use their extinguisher.
Members of the Atlanta City Council panel who saw the images of the completely burned-through engine wanted to know the timetable for replacing equipment. It is supposed to be ten years, Slaughter advised them, due to the heavy demands on the apparatus.
Firefighters go to more than 100,000 calls a year. So, how many other pieces of equipment are in use that has reached the end date?
Not counting eight trucks that will be put in service this summer, there still will be another ten pieces that the chief will be looking to replace.