The Atlanta City Council recently approved legislation to support the city’s plan to acquire new fire vehicles and equipment for the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department (AFRD).

The legislation, approved on July 6, calls for the city to purchase three tractor-drawn aerial fire truck apparatus and three 1,500 GPM pumpers in FY22, in addition to two tractor-drawn aerial fire truck apparatus and three 1,500 GPM pumpers in FY23. This is reportedly a boost from last fiscal year, in which AFRD acquired one 1500 GPM pumper, one tractor-drawn aerial fire truck apparatus, and one mini pumper truck.

Prior to the legislation’s passage, AFRD worked with the city’s Office of Fleet Services to conduct a detailed analysis of the department to determine the current and future fleet requirements, including an analysis of operational needs, vehicle utilization, vehicle age, repair costs, and service level needs for repairs.

With the addition of the new vehicles and equipment, Atlanta Fire Rescue Chief Roderick Smith said in a news release that the purchases will allow the department to “place newer equipment in the reserve fleet for regular service replacements and address the fleet issues that we have been facing with aged reserve fire pumpers and ladders trucks.”