Excerpts from the Herald-Review.com:

A combination rescue pumper that will take the place of two vehicles in the Mattoon Fire Department’s fleet is scheduled to be put into service on Monday.

The E-ONE rescue pumper has a 780-gallon water tank on a Typhoon chassis. The front bumper has a hydraulic cutter and spreader connected to an on-board hydraulic pump … and there is a remote control light tower. 

The city purchased the $564,626 rescue pumper with the help of a $285,715 Assistance to Firefighters grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Fire Chief Tony Nichols said he submitted the grant application on March 3, 2016, and received word on May 20, 2016, that money was awarded to purchase the new truck.

The fire department had been saving money get a new truck, but the grant was needed to make this purchase possible. The chief had applied for grant funding three to four times in past years without success. 

Now that the new rescue pumper is entering service, the department plans to sell its 1978 rescue truck and a 1987 engine online. The department’s 1993 rescue and 1998 engine will be kept in reserve.

From the Banner Fire Equipment Facebook page:

From Craig Hamrick’s post: Delivery day for Mattoon Rescue Engine 21!
This is the day that seems an eternity in coming, but makes all of the meetings and pre-build worth it. This is not only a beautiful rig, but is super functional as well. Thank you Mattoon Fire for trusting E-ONE and Banner Fire Equipment to build this awesome rig for you.

photo from the Banner Fire Equipment Facebook page

photo from the Banner Fire Equipment Facebook page

photo from the Banner Fire Equipment Facebook page

Tags: Assistance to Firefighters Grant, Banner Fire Equipment, Craig Hamrick, Fire Chief Tony Nichols, grant helps pay for new fire truck, Mattoon FD Rescue Engine 21, Mattoon Fire Department, new rescue pumper for mattoon FD