Oktibbeha county gets five new fire trucks for the county
OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – “Some of our fire trucks in the county have reached their age limit, and they were starting to have repair issues, and it was a need to purchase these trucks for those reasons,” said Patrick Warner, Oktibbeha County Fire Coordinator.
District supervisors and firefighters in Oktibbeha County, are putting forth their best efforts to make sure its citizens are always covered in emergencies. Oktibbeha County District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer said it is all about protecting the community.
“It is all about the citizens, it is all about safety, all about being functional, and it is all about making sure we are prepared when we need fire emergency services. So, we have to have the right equipment, the right training, and the right perspective so we can serve our citizens,” said Trainer.
Oktibbeha County Fire Coordinator Patrick Warner said the new features will allow firefighters to be better equipped when trying to save lives. He knows when it comes to surviving a fire, every second matters.
“There are a couple of features on these trucks that our other trucks did not have, they are thirty and twenty years old. Things are more updated now with LED lights, higher pumping capacity, and carrying more water. These trucks are designed a little better than our older trucks, and these trucks are going to meet the country’s needs,” said Warner.
Trainer says Volunteer firefighters are just as important as full-time firefighters, so providing them with the most up-to-date equipment is a must.
“I do not call them volunteers anymore, because they have to have the same training, they need the same resources as other paid fire departments, the only difference is they do it out of the love for their community. If they are willing to invest their time and their energy in protecting the citizens, the least that we can do is give them the necessary tools that they need to be functional,” said Trainer.
The Maben, Sturgis, and District Five fire departments will all get one new truck, and East Oktibbeha County will get two of them.
“Some of them are replacing outdated vehicles, and some of them are being installed in some stations that were without fire engines, so they will be distributed all over Oktibbeha County,” said Marvell Howard, Oktibbeha County District 3 Supervisor.
Warner says the five trucks cost about 1.6 million dollars, and the money came from grants from the USDA, He also said the new trucks would not have been possible, without the help of the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors.
