Fire Department’s New Wheels Will be Able to ‘Take Care of Anything’

Part fire truck and part ambulance, the Macomb Township Fire Department’s newest vehicle will “be able to take care of anything” the department responds to, Fire Chief Robert Philips says.

The $249,468 purchase will add a third KME Mini Pumper to the department’s first-response fleet.

“The two we have served us very well,” Philips said. “They respond on the majority of calls as first-out vehicles.”

With a 1,000 gallon per minute pump and the ability to carry 250 gallons of water plus all necessary medical equipment, the mini pumper is equipped to handle both vehicle accidents and fires.

The new vehicle will replace an older unit, which has no firefighting capability and can carry only two firefighters to the new vehicle’s four-person capacity. It will be housed at Station No. 3.

“I would prefer to send them out in a vehicle that is able to take care of anything we respond to rather than specialized vehicle that is only for medical calls,” Philips said.

Philips plans to purchase a fourth vehicle next year so each station in the township will have its own unit.