When a fire alarm went off on Holcomb Road, Monday morning, the Independence Township Fire Department’s new command truck was the first fire vehicle at the scene.
There wasn’t a fire, but if there was, the truck could have been used to start fighting it. The new command truck, costing $230,000, has a water tank for firefighting and the ability to hook up to a fire hydrant, said Fire Chief Mitch Petterson, speaking to the Township Board at their Feb. 7 meeting.
Petterson said those capabilities are particularly useful on the command vehicle because it’s often the first truck on a scene, arriving before oncall firefighters arrive at the station and deploy the fire engines.
The fire department will continue with upgrades by replacing some fire engines and selling their older vehicles.