By REGINA BUTLER

Progress Staff Writer

After months of planning, 12 new fire trucks are days away from being delivered to Pontotoc County.

Supervisors went to Sarasota, Florida last week to inspect the new trucks before they were shipped to Pro-Fire at Olive Branch for the last inspection, pump test and equipping.

The equipment list for the truck includes 800 feet of 2.5 inch hose, 400 feet of 1.5-inch hose, one combination spray nozzle at 200 gpm, two spray nozzles at 95 gpm, a six pound flat axe, a six-pound pickhead axe, an 8 foot pike pole, two portable hand lights.

Other equipment include an 80-bc-rated dry chemical extinguisher, a 2.5 gallon water extinguisher, four SCBA brackets, four combination spanner wrenches, two hydrant wrenches, one double female and double male 2.5 adapter, a rubber mallet, two 12x14-inch salvage covers, two wheel chocks, two traffic vests, five fluorescent orange traffic cones, five illuminated warning devices (highway flares).

Firemen will also have a 5,000 watt generator (Honda®) with two mounted scene halogen lights, a portable 2,100 gallon capacity dump tank, a Honda® 6.5 HP positive pressure ventilation fan, a halogen tool, a scoop shovel, two brush flaps a 36-inch pry bar, a set of bolt cutters, two section 2.5 inch hard suctions with brackets, a pick plate for end of 2.5 had suctions, a six-inch hard suction strainer, a 2.5 to 2-15 gated wye (a y-shaped part), Kussamaul Pump plus 1,000 charger/compressor with shoreline connection.

Pontotoc County Board of Supervisors president Wayne Stokes said the trucks should be in Pontotoc sometime within the next two weeks.

Stokes, a veteran fireman himself, said he was impressed with the new trucks.

“We knew we were getting some top of the line trucks and these are really sharp trucks,” Stokes said. “The county fire departments will be proud to get these.”

The fire trucks had to be ordered because the trucks that have been on the county roads will soon be out of compliance as the main truck for fire fighting and it would drive down the rating of the fire districts.

The following fire departments will receive the 12 trucks: Algoma, Beckham, Ecru, Furrs, Hurricane, Longview, Pontotoc, Randolph, Sherman, Thaxton, Toccopola and Troy-Woodland.

“However,” Stokes pointed out, “even when we get them here, it will take time to get the radio equipment installed.

“But we expect to have them in service by the middle of April.”