Winston-Salem Fire Department Capt. Jonathan Lindholm had to contain his excitement Wednesday morning about the department’s new, nearly $900,000 “toy.”
Introduced into service about two months ago, the fire department’s hazardous materials, or HAZMAT, response vehicle is a lot of things, but mainly it’s a tractor-trailer moonlighting as a fire engine, with an office in the back and a weather station that can generate computer models to determine where hazardous gas plumes might blow.
And the truck goes fast.
“It’ll get up there,” a smiling Lindholm said when asked about the truck’s top speed.
Being a new vehicle, Lindholm said the department hasn't maxed it out at top speed, yet.
Speaking at the city of Winston-Salem’s monthly public safety news conference, Lindholm explained the risks hazardous materials pose to Forsyth County, and how this new vehicle helps mitigate those risks.