The Searcy Fire Department welcomed a new addition to their fleet last week.
Fire chief Andy Woody said the Searcy Fire Department acquired a new fire truck called Engine 3, which aims to improve safety, enhance reliability and provide additional space for firefighters and their gear.
Woody said the department replaces a front-line truck approximately every 15 years and purchases a new truck around every five years due to industry and safety standards for fire departments and citizens.
“As a citizen … I’m excited to have a new firetruck,” Woody said. “It’s a relatively neat thing that’s rare for firefighters to get to experience.”
Josh Oakes, fire captain at Station 3, said each truck is built specifically for each individual department and takes around a year to complete. He said a committee is formed with members from each shift to discuss needed additions and designs for a new truck. Once a proposed designed is drafted, the committee collaborates with the entire department.
“From our newest guy to our oldest guy, everyone has a say in it,” Oakes said. “It’s very much a department thing.”
Oakes said he is excited to house Engine 3 in his station and utilize it in the community for quicker response times and streamlined operations on the scene.
Oakes said the new engine is the first one to feature some aspects of the department’s new branding, including a new logo on the side of the truck and the phrase “City of Searcy,” an addition designed to garner a sense of community for Searcy residents.
“When we came up with the new brand … we wanted to have something set up where it made the citizens feel, hopefully, more involved in what we are,” Oakes said. “We wanted to put ‘City of Searcy’ on our trucks to give (citizens), hopefully, more ownership in what we do here.”
Freshman Emma Williams, a Searcy native, said she hopes the new engine will aid Searcy firefighters in extinguishing fires and in responding to various emergency calls.
“I’m excited just because, I guess with any new engine, that’s a further step of protecting our community and improving our community and its safety,” Williams said.
Engine 3 will reside at Fire Station 3 on West Beebe Capps. The Searcy Fire Department held a traditional push-in ceremony on Jan. 31 and Engine 3 can now be seen responding to calls throughout the community.
