After a nearly two and a half year wait, Broken Arrow's Fire Department will soon see its two new fire engines.Post-COVID supply chain issues slowed the manufacturer's ability to build the engines BAFD ordered back in July 2023.Funding from the engines comes from the city's 2018 general bond obligation. "Our engines, we try to replace 'em about every ten years, and so as the fleet ages, we order new ones to keep those up," said BAFD Deputy Chief of Operations Ryan Lawson. "The older ones they're being replaced will end up in a reserve fleet so if we have a mechanical issue or whatever they can trade into the older trucks."On No.v 19, BA City Council approved several funding items to equip the engines and its expanding roster of firefighters."We're gettin' ready to hire 17 new firefighters, so what you saw go through Council this week was the equipment, personal protective equipment for those new cadets we're gettin' ready to hire," said Lawson. $160,000 for 26 sets of firefighting coats and pants paid for with sales tax capital improvement funds $76,522.05 for fire apparatus equipment paid for with 2018 general obligations bonds $271,400 to replace half the fire department's handheld radiosLawson explained, "That's gonna be your hoses and nozzles, and ladders and pike poles and all that kinda thing that's gonna go onto that piece of equipment when they get here.""Just like your cell phones, the radio technology has to be replaced over time, so we're replacing half of the radios within the fire department," said Lawson. City council also approved spending $53,519 of sales tax capital improvement funds to outfit new patrol vehicles with grapplers to help police stop fleeing suspects.Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere -- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices. Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram SUBSCRIBE on YouTube