‘She’s ready to go’

Published 7:00 pm Monday, April 24, 2023

The Athens Fire Department now has a new fire truck and last Friday, they welcomed the Athens City Council to christen the truck by pushing the truck into the Fire Station No. 3 bay and declaring it ready for service. The tradition began in 2017 as a way to welcome the last new truck.

“I want to thank the Mayor and Council for y’alls support. It was very much needed and couldn’t come at a better time,” Athens Fire Chief James Hand said.

The new $700,000 truck has a different look than traditional Athens Fire Department trucks. The white trim at the top and bottom as been replaced with a shiny black. While the truck came with some equipment, the fire department was able to transfer equipment from the older truck.

“It’s a 2023 and we’ve had it in for a couple of weeks now. We’ve been installing equipment and getting it ready to be in service. It’s replacing a 1999 model truck that, over the last several years, has started to decline and have a lot of issues. This couldn’t have come at a better time, and we are just really excited,” Hand said. “We mounted a lot of the equipment ourselves to make sure it was going to fit our needs. We are still waiting on some pieces. As far as functional, it’s ready to go. She’s ready to go right now.”

Before the ceremonial pushing in of the new truck began, Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks shared his vision of the future for the Athens Fire Department.

“The next place we need a fire station is near the high school and the Sportsplex — in that section of town. A real neat thing, somebody designed the next truck in the Athens High School black and gold colors,” Marks said. “What we visualize is between the Central Office and the school.”

Marks also said that the City is looking at the Tanner Crossroads area for a future fire station.