Yonkers has two new fire trucks in its fleet, representing a $2.2 million investment to replace aging trucks currently in service. During a Jan. 31 event, Yonkers Fire Chaplain Fr. William Cleary blessed the trucks before they were put into service, one going to Ladder 70 at 2187 Central Park Ave., and the other going to Squad 11 at Station 11 at 433 Bronxville Rd.
Deputy Fire Commissioner John Folkerts said that planning for the new trucks began three years ago with preparation of the department’s capital budget and specifications for the trucks.
Mayor Mike Spano pointed out that there was bipartisan support for allocating funds to buy the new trucks. He said that the city has put 17 new fire trucks into service in the past 10 years.
“What you’re looking at today is the culmination of quite a few years of work, work that wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t have the support of the City Council,” Spano said. “We want to make sure that we are able to have the right equipment for the individuals who are going out there and put their lives on the line for us.”
Fire Commissioner Anthony Pagano said, “It’s state-of-the-art, it’s the best. It’s built just to meet the needs in the City of Yonkers: the hills; the narrow streets. You can’t walk into a showroom and say, ‘We’ll take two of those and three of these.’ We sit down, we spec them out, we test them, we bring them back, we make sure they can perform what we need to save your life, to make sure the firefighters can save each others’ lives, to make sure they can save the property that you live in.”
Fr. Cleary led the gathering in prayers of thanks for those who worked to bring the new fire trucks to Yonkers as well as those who will be operating the apparatus. He then sprinkled each truck with holy water.
