Sweet Home Fire Takes Delivery Of New Apparatus Purchased With 2024 Bond Funds (Photo) - 07/09/26

Over the span of a few months, the fire district has taken delivery of 3 new pieces of emergency response apparatus thanks to the generosity of our community's voters who supported a general obligation bond in May of 2024. The much needed vehicles will improve our response capabilities just in time for our busy season over the summer months. The purchases include a new ambulance which replaces a 2005 ambulance box that was remounted in 2017 allowing the unit to stay on the line as long as possible. Also included are 2 new brush trucks, 1 of which will primarily be used as an incident command vehicle staffed daily by the on duty Battalion Chief. This gives the district the ability to respond on virtually every call with immediate fire suppression capabilities with minimal staffing, while also keeping response costs lower when assisting on medical calls. The second brush rig is a specialized "super single" style type 6 brush truck which allows firefighters the best access in rural and difficult to access areas such as those found in the wildland urban interface. Increasing our fleet of brush rigs helps us to utilize the firefighting personnel that we have to our best advantage when we encounter large fires such as the recent "Wiley Fire" and the "Rice Road Fire," allowing us to protect multiple homes and attack the fire rapidly and efficiently. We are grateful for the support of our voters and want to thank them for their part in providing the necessary equipment to effectively protect our community.