By By ANNA M. LEE Assistant Editor
The City of Brewton has given the Brewton Fire Department and Fire Chief Lawrence Weaver the go ahead to find a replacement for its rescue truck, a 1979 Ford.
Expected to cost between $100,000 and $125,000, the new truck will probably be a four-wheel-drive 550 Ford model with an 8,000- to 12,000-pound wench on the front, extended cab and a body to carry tools.
The truck will feature "jaws of life," rods to pry open doors and medical equipment like stretchers or backboards and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).
One feature that is not available on the old truck is a generator that will operate 1,000- to 2,000- watt lights that would be on telescopic poles.
The rescue truck will also be equipped with power tools, reels to hold hydraulic lines from pumps, two 6,000-psi bottles and a fill station to refill SCBA's on scene and an automatic external defibrillator.
Weaver will visit area fire departments that have purchased rescue trucks and ask about their satisfaction and what they might do differently.
These trucks are manufactured by companies that specialize in fire equipment.
Once specifications are decided on, the city will take bids, and then the truck takes four to six months to build. The new truck is expected to be available by this October.
Currently, the fire department has four fire engines, a brush truck for wildfires, the old rescue truck, a hazmat truck with a new hazmat trailer, the chief's vehicle and a pickup truck.