HELEN, Ga. –The Helen City Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to replace an aging Fire Engine No. 8 with a new $407,000 unit purchased from Michigan-based HME Inc. Commissioners also approved an additional $35,000 to purchase fire equipment.

Engine No. 8 is 20 years old and, if it should go down for any reason, the city would have to depend on White County Fire Department to respond to calls.

At a recent commission work session, Commissioner Helen Wilkins, who began serving on the commission in 1987 joked, “There has been a lot of wear and tear on me and on that fire truck.”

Fire Chef Jody Prickett thanked commissioners and said it would take about eight months for the new fire engine to be constructed. Meanwhile, the commission will decide on a financing method.

Prickett has expressed concerns about the age of the fire engine before. “I’m afraid that if something was to happen with this truck that we have currently, we don’t have a backup and we would have to rely on the county. As of right now the only spare [engine] that the county has got is being used as a front-line truck, so we would be up the creek if something was to happen with our engine. We do have a ladder truck that could respond to certain locations, but there are certain locations it can’t get to.”

When the new fire engine arrives, No. 8 will become a service truck and back-up engine.

The Commission also approved a Local Maintenance Improvement Grant (LMIG) from the Georgia Department of Transportation in the amount of $21,397.45. The grant requires an 30 percent match from the city.

The city, which has long contracted with Atlanta Pyrotechnics for the fireworks show celebrating the 4^th of July, agreed to renew the contract for two years at a cost of $10,070 per year.