Tallahassee firefighters have two new fire engines they say will help them respond faster and more safely to emergencies across the city and Leon County.
The Tallahassee Fire Department has added two new 2026 E One Typhoone fire engines, with one assigned to Station 3 on South Monroe and the other to Station 16. Fire officials said each new engine cost nearly $1 million.
The engines were paid for through the fire service fee collected on monthly bills from local residents.
“These units are obviously the most up to date technology,” said Travis Walker, deputy chief of operations for the Tallahassee Fire Department. “They get the water on the scene in the fastest service manor that we can possibly do it.”
Walker said each unit typically seats a crew of four people and can transport up to six first responders. The custom-built engines have Wi-Fi, first aid supplies and capacity for up to 750 gallons of water.
Walker also explained that while both vehicles are considered fire trucks, departments distinguish between an engine and what they typically call a truck.
“These apparatus are both fire trucks, but the moniker that the fire departments typically use is engines will supply the water and the hoses and they want to have a ladder on top of the unit. What we typically call a truck will be an apparatus with the large ladder on top of the truck,” Walker said.
The department said each new engine is equipped with jaws of life, advanced life support and new medical equipment. Walker said updated equipment matters because firefighters have faced dangerous conditions during rescues.
“Our personnel have experienced numerous close call where they are having too go into structures farther than they want to trying to find possible victims,” Walker said. “We’ve had gear that’s gotten burned, we’ve had members that have gotten burned, some of the by products on helmets will come out melted, so we have had close calls like that.”
With the new engines placed at Station 3 and Station 16, the department said there are 12 fire engines across Tallahassee and Leon County ready to respond to emergency calls.
The Tallahassee Fire Department chief said the average usage span of a fire engine is about 10 years on the front lines.