Bartlesville Fire Department recently added a new truck to its fleet after retiring the 11-year-old “command vehicle” for Central Fire Station’s three battalion chiefs.

The new 2017 Ford F-350 crew cab, four-wheel drive pick-up will allow the station’s battalion chiefs — who act as the incident commander on all structure fires and other serious calls — to respond to emergencies with back-up equipment and reliable radios needed to communicate with firefighters on-scene.

Fire Chief John Banks says the old vehicle had 140,000-plus miles on it, which is a lot for an emergency vehicle.  The city bought vehicle with $50,000 from the Capital Improvement Project fund with dollars budgeted for funding for the current fiscal year.

The truck has a rollout bed in the back and it’s outfitted to carry twelve spare breathing apparatus bottles.