Albany, Dougherty County dedicate new fire tanker truck

ALBANY — The tanker is back. That’s the message given by the Albany Fire Department during a Monday dedication of a new tanker truck to serve throughout Dougherty County.

During the ceremony, held at the Albany-Dougherty Government Center, Albany Fire Chief Cedric Scott called in by radio to announce that the truck is officially in service as tanker eight. Despite the designation, it will be the only tanker truck in service but will be housed at Fire Station 8 on Newton Road.

The Dougherty County Commission purchased the truck at a cost of about $496,000. Dougherty County contracts with the city to provide fire service in unincorporated areas. The tanker can carry 3,000 gallons of water to a fire scene, dump it in three minutes for use by firefighters on the scene and return to a water source to reload in the same three minutes’ time.

“This is an incredible day,” Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas said. “I want you to imagine a fire in the middle of the night in an unincorporated area and there is no fire hydrant nearby.

“This truck affords us the opportunity to save memories, save lives, save money. It will save lives, it will protect property and it will preserve memories. This is an investment in our community, our lives, our citizens (and) $469,000 is a drop in the bucket compared to saving a child or a loved one.”

The fire department had tanker trucks in service about 20 years ago, but at one time it was decided to use other methods to battle fires in rural areas, Scott said. As chief, he thought it was a good idea to bring tankers back and made a pitch to place tanker trucks in four rural fire stations.

“This (truck) will allow us to have water there to aid in fire prevention, safety and protecting our firefighters,” the chief said.

Funding for the truck came from $1.2 million in the current special-purpose local-option sales tax earmarked for fire equipment.

“Teamwork matters, and it took a city and county effort to make this happen,” Albany City Manager Steven Carter said.

“More things like that should happen where the city and county put aside their differences and get things done.”

Staff Photos: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]