Norris approves fire truck purchase

Replacement pumper could arrive in 3-4 weeks

January 7, 2026 by G. Chambers Williams III

The Norris City Council voted during a special meeting Monday night to approve purchase of a replacement for its only certified fire truck, destroyed in a Nov. 12 accident, with a brand-new $410,000 Pierce Freightliner pumper, which could arrive within three to four weeks after the order is placed.

After declaring the fire truck loss an emergency situation under state law, the city will not be required to seek bids on the new truck. Usually, any purchase over $10,000 requires such a bidding process.

A brand-new 2026 model, the Pierce pumper truck, with a 1,000-gallon onboard water tank, will be purchased from Siddons-Martin Emergency Group in Memphis.

The council approved in a vote of 4-0 a resolution to declare the emergency and to move forward with the purchase, upon recommendation of City Manager Bailey Whited.

“The Nov. 12 accident created an emergency situation that allows purchasing without competitive bidding,” he told the council.

Council members also approved on first reading an ordinance to allocate $30,000 from the city’s general-fund budget to pay for the truck – which was what was left to pay after using the $302,330 insurance payout for the crashed truck and money already in the current fiscal-year budget for the Fire Department.

The order for the new truck will be placed after the council passes the ordinance on second and final reading, which is expected to occur at the regular council meeting on Jan. 12. A public hearing on the spending ordinance will be held at 5:30 p.m., just prior to the 6 p.m. meeting next Monday.

Whited said Siddons-Martin has told him the new truck could be delivered in “three to four weeks,” but he added that it could take a week or two longer.

Once the truck is delivered to the city, it should be ready to be placed in service within just a few days, he said, pending certification by the state of Tennessee.

Part of the money to buy the new truck will come from a $50,000 grant from Anderson County this year, which each fire department in the county was awarded. The city also has $37,000 in its budget for the Fire Department this year, which had not yet been spent.

Fire Chief Rick Roach told the council Monday night that the Pierce pumper would meet the city’s needs, and that much of the equipment for it is already on hand – including fire hoses and other items saved from the wrecked truck.

The city did lose a $3,000 ventilation fan in the accident, but is still working with a different insurance company to get a payment to help replace that, Roach said.

For now, Norris is still able to answer fire calls with its backup pumper truck and assistance from the nearby Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department.

“It is a serious impact to the city,” Mitchell said during the December council meeting. “But I want the public to know we have fire protection.”

The 2012 Emergency One brand pumper truck, carrying firefighting equipment and a 1,500-gallon water tank, reportedly rolled over three times, then came to rest on its side in the grass off the left side of West Norris Road, just past the turnoff to Norris Middle School.

A driver and a passenger, both volunteer firefighters, were the only occupants of the vehicle when it crashed, Roach said earlier. Neither was seriously injured, he said.

“They were responding to a wreck on Norris Freeway,” he said. “The driver was cited [by the Tennessee Highway Patrol] for no seatbelt, and he was treated and released for bumps and bruises.”

The city’s backup truck, a 1995 Ferrara model, is still in excellent condition and able to answer calls, but it is not certified, the city said.