An investigation was underway to determine the cause of a fire that damaged a Lauderhill Fire Department truck in its station bay Thursday morning, officials said.
Engine 30 was reportedly found with heavy smoke and flames coming from the front cabin at approximately 8:20 a.m. by a crew that was returning to the station from an earlier call, Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Levy said.
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"They were able to contain it with fire extinguishers until another fire truck from one of our neighboring Lauderhill fire stations arrived," Levy said. "They were able to successfully extinguish the fire in the truck without it spreading to any parts of the building or other trucks."
Levy said that the engine will need to be towed to a repair shop to assess the damage and determine whether the truck is repairable and, if so, how much the work will cost. In the meantime, he said that residents should not experience service disruptions.
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"When you lose a piece of apparatus to this magnitude, they're not cheap, and they're not quick to purchase, if we had to purchase a new one. To purchase a new one takes about two-and-a-half to three years for them to be custom built," the deputy chief said. "But fortunately, we have spare apparatus. We're able to place a spare apparatus in service today and continue providing services unimpeded to the city."
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the fire marshal's office, Levy said.
"The truck is within its operable lifespan. It gets routine maintenance, as preferred by the manufacturer," he told NBC6. "It did not have work done recently."
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The fire station where the truck was housed consists of two bays. It was completed in 2022, according to the architectural firm behind the project.
The deputy chief also noted that the department would be bringing in a crew to assess any potential smoke damage and needed cleanup to the fire station bays.
