Quick-attack rescue truck
By JARED PUTNAM Union Sentinel Editor

Blairsville Station No. 1 is seeking to upgrade its rescue capabilities, and the Blairsville City Council recently helped the station take a big step toward accomplishing that goal by approving a $15,000 donation toward a "quick-attack rescue truck."

Blairsville Station No. 1, a 13 member volunteer fire department whose station is located inside the city limits of Blairsville, is looking to add the truck in order to upgrade the abilities of the department. Lieutenant Jack Thompson recently presented the proposal to the city council, which had previously funded the purchase of a different engine years earlier.

Lt. Thompson explained that the county currently has a large rescue truck located at the station on Shoe Factory Road. Whenever there is a rescue call in the county other than Suches, that truck goes. That can often mean that the truck will be on one end of the county, leaving no vehicle available for rescues at those times.

"What we're looking at now is to increase our capabilities and to increase our service to the community," said Lt. Thompson. He described the quick-attack rescue truck as a "smaller truck that can get around better than the large ones." Lt. Thompson said that the pump on the truck carries about 250 gallons of water. The department would also like to put extrication equipment on it for small fires and any type of rescues that they may do.

The truck that the station is interested in is a used truck located in Morgan City, Alabama and has approximately 21,000 miles on it. Lt. Thompson provided photos of the vehicle to the city council. It is a 4-wheel-drive model equipped with lighting designed to light up a large area at night. Lt. Thompson noted that the department would still need to purchase additional equipment for the truck.

Blairsville Station No. 1 was previously known as the Station One Volunteers. Their funds typically come from letter drives and boot drives on the town square, as well as any other donations that people are willing to give. The station was once badly run down, but has been renovated through donations and the hard work of the volunteers. The station will be holding it's annual open house on June 3. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and other refreshments will be served.