The city is putting a decommissioned fire truck back into service after Hillside residents raised concerns about dry weather.
The truck--a 2,500-gallon water tanker referred to as Tender 9--had been "periodically out of service," Mayor Dan Sullivan said Wednesday, with officials saying the outage was the result of a tight budget.
After weeks of unseasonably warm and dry weather in Anchorage, Sullivan said that he had instructed Fire Chief Chris Bushue to put Tender 9 back into service from its station on Huffman Road.
"It will be in service until further notice," Sullivan said. "We know there's been some concern from folks on the Hillside--we listened to those concerns."
Sullivan said that the Fire Department's budget currently has the money to cover the costs of operating Tender 9. And if running the truck puts the budget into the red, Sullivan said that he would appeal to the Assembly to make up the difference.
"We'll track the actual expenses," he said. "And if necessary, we will ask the Assembly to approve dipping into the reserves."
Reach Nathaniel Herz at nherz@adn.com or 257-4311.
By Nathaniel Herz