Champion Great Neighborhoods September 2019 | Page 3

Updates
Arlington Fire Department Replacing Front-Line Vehicles to Protect Lives, Property
The City of Arlington is investing in three new fire vehicles designed to
help fire fighters protect lives and property during emergencies.
The Arlington City Council approved a $2.4 million contract with Metro
Fire Apparatus Specialists, Inc., of Houston for the purchase of two new
fire pumper engines and one aerial ladder truck to replace existing
front-line fire apparatus that have reached the end of their useful
service life. The pumper engines, which carries water and hoses, will be
placed into service next year at Station 8, 2020 Madison Dr., and Station
10, 3205 SW Green Oaks Blvd., while the ladder truck, which carry
extrication and rescue equipment, will be housed starting next year at
Station 6, 2620 S. Collins St.
The City of Arlington was able to obtain the best price and quality of these vehicles thanks to participation in
the Houston-Galveston Area Council Cooperative Purchase Program. The Arlington Fire Department replaces
two to three vehicles each year to maintain its fleet of front-line fire apparatus, which are used to respond to
emergencies throughout the City. Last year, fire fighters responded to 46,707 calls for service, a 1.7 percent
increase from the year before.
The three fire apparatus that are being replaced will be moved into backup status. The average lifespan of the
City’s front-line fire apparatus is 8 ½ years.
Maddie’s
Fund Grant Award Helps Arlington
Feral Cats and Strengthens Neighborhoods
The City of Arlington is working to control the feral cat population and got a big
boost from the Maddie’s Fund family foundation this summer.
Maddie’s Fund is dedicated to saving the lives of shelter dogs, cats, and other animals. The
foundation granted an award of $5,000 to Arlington Animal Services to help the city’s feral and
community cat population. Not only does this grant funding help save and improve the lives of feral
cats, it also helps achieve the City’s goal of championing great neighborhoods.
The generous award funded five Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) clinics to spay/neuter and provide a rabies
vaccination for Arlington’s free-roaming felines. Each feral/community cat received these free veterinary
services and also received an ear-tip to make them
readily identifiable as having received services. 100
feral/community cats were able to be served at five “Feral
Cat Sundays” throughout June, July, and August thanks to
Maddie’s Fund.
The services help stop the reproduction process of feral
cats, and vaccinating for rabies helps keep the community
safer. Stopping the reproduction cycle will save untold
numbers of homeless kittens.
Maddie’s Fund also recently provided a $5,000 boost to
the “bottle babies” initiative – a program to help save
unweaned kittens in the shelter’s Foster Pet Program.