The Hopkins County Commissioners Court approved the purchase of a special new fire truck at a Wednesday morning meeting. County Fire Chief Andy Endsley said his department, and especially Fire Marshal Mike Mathews, had done a lot of research into this truck. Chief Endsley said the truck would be beneficial for the citizens of Hopkins County. He said it would allow the county fire department to better protect homes in the county against brush and grass fires. Chief Endsley said more and more new homes were being built in the county that were large ones, 3,000 to 4,000 square feet. He said the new truck included an auxiliary pump on top. Chief Endsley said the Class A pumper could carry 1,000 gallons of water. He called the truck a game changer for the county fire depart. He said the truck would require 90 days to be built. The chassis and cab are pre-built. Chief Endsley said the county would be able to design the back end of the vehicle to be built just the way they want. He said the truck would be the first custom built Class A pumper that the county had ever owned. Chief Endsley said the truck should last 20 years. The cost for the fire truck is $433,000 but Chief Endsley said the county received $130,000 from trade-ins and also got a $15,000 rebate and a reduction of $13,000 for buying before the end of the year. He said the county also had some money put back for the purchase. Chief Endsley said very little money would have to be financed by the county. He expects the truck to arrive in March or April.
