Fire Engine 24 Back In Service After Crash In Cherokee

CANTON, GA — After a crash totaled Cherokee County Fire Engine No. 24, its replacement was put back in service Monday.

The former engine was involved in an accident on September 14, 2018 that totaled the vehicle. This new engine is replacing the one that was wrecked.

Cherokee County Fire Chief Tim Prather said the cost of the new engine is $438,590, with insurance covering 74 percent of the cost.

"We were fortunate that most of the equipment on the former truck was not damaged and is now placed on the new truck," Prather said in a release. "Typically the cost to equip a new truck is approximately $100,000, so that was an actual savings not loss.”

The new Engine No. 24 arrived at the Cherokee County Fire Training Center Monday. Cherokee County firefighters were on hand to place the necessary emergency response tools and supplies on the new engine just before it was put back into service.

The totaled engine was acquired by the county in September 2016 for $398,219, and was deployed about a year. The engine had fewer than 10,000 miles on the odometer when it was in the accident, county staff said.