Last night, the Jacksonville Fire Department unveiled two new members to their fleet. “Big Eli” and “The Scrambler” were unveiled to several dozen community members as new firefighting apparatus of the future.
Chief Doug Sills spoke about the two new apparatus are specific to the needs of the City of Jacksonville. He also said the selection of the two new apparatus ends a 3-year long process that will help respond to all types of incidents for the city for the next two decades.
The two new trucks replace two trucks that were nearly 20 years old. Both have currently been decommissioned – one for sale and the other for a possible donation to a more needy fire department in the area. Chief Sills said the naming of the trucks after the Eli Bridge Company’s major connection to the city of Jacksonville for over 100 years was a perfect fit.