New fire trucks to be rolled out in El Paso

The El Paso Fire Department will soon debut two brand new fire pumpers at two local fire stations.

As part of the department’s vehicle replacement plan, officials evaluate which vehicles or apparatus need to be replaced.

For the past year, the two pumpers were custom built and welded together in Appleton, Wisconsin at Pierce Manufacturing.

The manufacturer, located more than 1,500 miles from El Paso, is home to the largest fire apparatus company in the world.

City officials traveled there to document how the trucks were built and customized for the fire department, and most recently, fire officials were in Wisconsin to give their final approval.

“We thought it was very important to show taxpayers just how their investments are made and how the city is committed to public safety,” said Ramon Herrera, Lead Public Affairs Coordinator for the city.

You can watch the city’s video here.

“It’s a unique process to custom build the pumpers,” Herrera said.

According to the City of El Paso website, a fire pumper is equipped with a permanently mounted fire pump, water tank, and hose whose primary purpose is to combat structural and associated fires.

The pumpers are built to carry a standard 500 gallons of water, 5″ supply hose, 1 ¾ – 2 ½ inch attack hose, and a total of 50 feet of ground ladders. The fire pumps mounted on the apparatus are capable of providing up to 1500 gallons per minute of water.

Herrera said any vehicle used on a day-to-day basis has a life span of 12 to 15 years.

The two pumpers will be delivered to Stations 18 and 30.

The cost for each pumper was $530,000.

“In the next few weeks they’ll (pumpers) be on the streets protecting El Paso,” Herrera said.