On Saturday, the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District announced that three new fire engines will soon be responding to calls as they are placed in service.
The new engines will replace older engines that were purchased in 2007 and have approximately 160,000 miles of use on them.
The National Fire Protection Association standard for fire engines includes a typical 15-year lifespan of an engine. The standard has a fire engine spending 10 years as a front-line resource and 5 years as a spare resource given they are not overworked during their time in service.
Fire Chief Brian Helmick stated, “In 2010 the Fire District developed a Capital Replacement Fund which requires the District to save money it would need when our engines no longer could support the demand we place on them on a daily basis.”
Chief Helmick added, “They are truly showing the impact from 24-hour responses, answering emergency calls twice as frequent. This is due to only having 3 stations instead of the 6 we should have today.”
The District said Saturday that two of our primary engines were recently inoperable due to mechanical issues. The reserve engines are from 2001/2002 and have a remarkable 175,000 miles of use for an almost 20-year-old piece of equipment. Due to the District’s forward thinking and fiscal responsibility, three new fire engines may be seen driving through our communities very soon as they get ready to take over the primary role of answering the call for when you need us the most.
President Brian Oftedal stated, “Our residents and Firefighters deserve to have reliable apparatus”. Oftedal added, “On behalf of your ECCFPD Elected Fire Board, I am excited and honored to present our communities, with these beautiful new fire apparatuses.”
Learn more at www.eccfpd.org
The East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD) is a rural-funded fire district that currently operates 3 fire stations and has a 3-station deficit. The District protects a population of more than 128,000 across its 249 square-mile service area. ECCFPD provides firefighting personnel, emergency medical services (basic life support) and fire prevention to the residents and businesses of the cities of Brentwood and Oakley, and unincorporated communities of Discovery Bay, Bethel Island, Knightsen, Byron, Marsh Creek, and Morgan Territory.
