Grapevine Fire Dept. Eyes Smaller Vehicle

0:00It's April 7th. I'm Corey with the story, and this is Dallas News Today, local news powered by AI. Great Vine City leaders are eyeing a big change for their fire department, looking to swap out engine 1 with a smaller first responder vehicle. The City Council meets Tuesday, April 7th, to vote on buying this Fouts Brothers Texas Quick Attack truck built on a Ford F-550 chassis for $325,000. This design to handle a mix of emergencies faster in their growing town. This new ride would carry just two firefighters, 350 gallons of water and 10 gallons of foam, way less than the current engines, set up. Back in 2016, they welcomed a beefy new engine 4, but now they're pushing efficiency with this compact option to free up resources. The firefighters' union is pushing back hard, calling it a downgrade that cuts staffing and gear right when calls are spiking. They say engine 1 is fully loaded with 3 or 4 crew members, massive hoses, and serious

1:01water flow to tackle big fire solo. City officials, including the fire chief, point to a 2021 study by Fitch and Associates that sparked plans for fourth ambulance. Even with emergency calls of nearly 20% overall and EMS up 13%, they insist reallocating like this keeps everyone safe without extra costs. Fuel kicks off at 7 p.m. at City Hall, so we'll see if this squad rolls out or if the full engine stays put to keep the heat off grade mine.