ATLANTA — Along Azalia Street in Atlanta’s historic West End, Michael Douglas says they prize their peace of mind.
“We can sleep at night. I mean, safety is first,” Douglas said.
Which was on display on Wednesday.
“We have a new fleet of front-line engines,” Deputy Fire Chief David Bohatch told Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen.
Five of them, in fact. The trucks, more than $6 million worth, were unveiled outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“We’ve been working on this for some time,” Public Works Commissioner Cyril Turner said.
More than two years after the city’s Auditor’s Office found that 20% of the department’s fleet had been removed from service due to lack of repairs, which Channel 2’s Tom Jones looked into.
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“It caused the city to use aging fire trucks, some with mechanical issues,” Jones reported at the time.
Fire administrators said the new engines help fix that.
“It addresses firefighter safety, response times, and reduces maintenance costs,” Deputy Chief Bohatch said.
And just in time for the FIFA World Cup.
“These 5 engines were part of that plan to get these trucks in place prior to FIFA,” Bohatch said.
One of them is on its way to Station 7 in the historic West End, where they prize their peace of mind.
“I think everybody should have new fire trucks. They should be everywhere,” Douglas said.
The new fire engines should be in service within a week.
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