COMPTON, CA – Compton officials recently christened a $3-million firefighting and rescue fleet — the first significant update in the city’s emergency response equipment in two decades, according to the Los Angeles Times newspaper. The investment, made possible by federal block grant funds, allowed one of the nation’s busiest fire departments to replace aging equipment that was prone to breakdowns. Five new fire engines, a 105-foot aerial ladder truck with pump and water tank, another unit capable of lighting up an area the size of a football field, six ambulances, and two command vehicles are all ready to go to work for a department whose motto is “Meeting the Challenge.” The new rigs are loaded with state-of-the-art options, including the latest breathing apparatus. Compton, a city of 10 square miles and roughly 96,000 residents, ranks first in the nation among cities of its size for the volume of its paramedic responses, according to the Times report. Each year the city’s 60 firefighters respond to between 9,800 and 11,000 emergency calls, most for medical assistance.