The Stuart Fire Department received an early Christmas present last Friday, as Fire Chief Gary Fox and his firefighters welcomed their brand new 2013 Spartan fire truck to the department.

Fox tells Raccoon Valley Radio that the new vehicle is the “top of the line truck that you can get,” and he is excited to have a more capable and safer fire truck for his department to use.

The new truck, which Fox says cost about $350,000, was entirely City funded, and he thanks the Stuart City Council for its generosity and willingness to come up with the funds to help build a truck that is “exactly what (the department) wanted.”

Toyne, Inc. out of Breda, IA, had been building the new truck since April, and some of its new features include a computer-driven pump panel, a booster tank capable of holding 1,500 gallons of water, and enough interior space to safely sit six firefighters with seatbelts.

The truck is fully compliant with regulations from the National Fire Protection Agency, and Fox believes it will be a staple in the department for the next 50 years.