Gravette fire department to get new ladder truck

Submitted Photo The Gravette Fire Department will be receiving an additional fire truck about mid-December. This 1997 Marion Spartan 105-foot ladder truck is being purchased from a fire department in Canton, Conn. The City of Gravette was awarded a $75,000 grant from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission to help purchase the truck. It will be housed in the main fire station at Gravette.
Submitted Photo The Gravette Fire Department will be receiving an additional fire truck about mid-December. This 1997 Marion Spartan 105-foot ladder truck is being purchased from a fire department in Canton, Conn. The City of Gravette was awarded a $75,000 grant from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission to help purchase the truck. It will be housed in the main fire station at Gravette.

— The Gravette Fire Department will be receiving an additional fire truck about the middle of December, according to fire chief Rob Douthit. The 1997 Marion Spartan 105-foot Quint ladder truck is being purchased from a fire department in Canton, Conn. It will be housed in the main fire station in Gravette.

The city of Gravette was awarded a $75,000 grant from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission through their rural services block grant program to purchase the truck. Chief Douthit and fire captain David Orr were present at an awards ceremony in the governor's reception room at the state capitol Oct. 13 to receive the grant. Grant money will cover the cost of the truck and part of the equipment that is needed on it.

Gravette City Council members voted at their October meeting to sell the city's oldest fire truck at surplus. Money from the sale of that truck will go toward rescue equipment for the ladder truck.

Chief Douthit has pointed out that the ladder truck will be especially useful in fighting fires at taller structures such as the hospital and Main Street buildings. It will also be a valuable asset during mutual aid calls to other departments, and having it in the city's fleet will lower the city's insurance rating.

"We are gearing up for the required training of our firefighters for this truck," Douthit said.

General News on 11/09/2016