New ATV will allow City fire department to be more responsive

St. Augustine Fire Chief Carlos Aviles informed local Historic City News reporters that his department was awarded a $31,595.39 grant to cover 100% of the purchase price of a new special use all-terrain vehicle.

For the past 14 months, working extensively with Firehouse Subs and the Public Safety Foundation, the St. Augustine Fire Department has tirelessly defended the need for an all-terrain vehicle in a city where the ever-increasing volumes of crowds and gridlocked traffic impedes response times and restricts access for large emergency response vehicles.

“We are beyond excited about this and can’t wait to press it into service, hopefully late this spring,” Chief Aviles told reporters. “Our persistence was a direct result of our strong belief in the project. We will soon be more capable than we were before at no cost to our residents.”

The funding from Firehouse Subs and the Public Safety Foundation grant, allows the department to complete the vehicle purchase with no matching funds or upfront costs to the City of St. Augustine.