UPDATE: The Covington Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of the truck at the legislative meeting on Feb. 10, 2026.–LINK nky editorial, Feb. 11, 2026.
Covington Fire is asking the city’s Board of Commissioners to approve a roughly $2.3 million purchase of a new fire truck.
Covington Deputy Fire Chief of Operations Patrick Averbeck presented the proposal to the commissioners Tuesday night. The board placed the purchase on next week’s consent agenda, meaning it will likely pass.
If approved, the city would purchase the truck from Atlantic Emergency Solutions, an emergency vehicle dealer with offices in Wilder and Shelbyville. The truck – or apparatus, as it’s called in the business – itself would be produced by Pierce Manufacturing, a producer with facilities in Wisconsin and Florida.
The truck belongs to the category of vehicles called tractor-drawn aerial ladders, which refer to trucks that pull trailers with extendable ladders. Documents submitted to the board prior to Tuesday’s meeting stated that the truck’s weight is 52,500 pounds (26.25 tons) and its top speed is 60 miles per hour.
“Our current apparatus is a 2004,” Averbeck said. “The industry standard on the life cycle of a fire truck is 10 to 15 years,” before moving the truck into reserve for 10 years. “At 22 years old, it’s still our front-line truck.”
The Fire Department had formed an internal committee to explore options before presenting Tuesday’s proposal. Averbeck said that once the order is made, it would take a good four years before the department would even be able to use the truck due to its production turnaround.
The Board of Commissioners did not discuss the ask before placing the item on the consent agenda.
The City had already set aside about $1 million last fall. Since it takes so long for the truck to be produced, the City will spread out the remaining cost from several parts of the city’s budget over the space of several years. Atlantic may also grant the city a discount, depending on how much money they’re willing to pay up front.