Speaking of fire safety, firefighting may become a little more efficient for the Austin Fire Department in about a month.

The Austin Fire Department purchased a new fire truck, which will replace two older trucks it sold that were nearly the same size. In place of the 1975 Ford Telesquirt and 1995 Pierce fire engines, is a the department will have a new Sutphen 75-foot Ladder truck. The truck, with much newer technology, can do the job of both old trucks, according to Austin Fire Chief Mickey Healey.

“It’s smaller than some other trucks that we have, but it has the capability of doing five different functions,” he said.

Furthermore, replacing two trucks with one will be a savings to local taxpayers. The Austin Fire Department tries to replace one of its large trucks every 25 years.

Austin firefighters customized the new truck to their specifications, and the truck is being completed in Ohio. Fire Chief Mickey Healey and two others from the Austin Fire Department will fly to Ohio for initial training on the truck after it is completed on Oct. 24. Then they will bring the truck back to Austin where the rest of the crew will begin training. Healey expects the truck to be fully operational by mid-November.