PRESS RELEASE
On Thursday, Sept. 7, we joined Mayor Toby Barker and Hattiesburg Public School District officials to commission and unveil our brand-new platform ladder truck – Purple Rain!
The vehicle cost nearly $1.3 million and was purchased with federal ARPA funds, wdam.com reported.
This is the city’s very first platform ladder truck – which features an aerial ladder with an attached platform and basket. This allows us to transport passengers with ease. This also has a larger capacity for an additional point of fire suppression from the air.
With the new truck, comes a new name. Purple Rain was submitted by 14 individuals and is one of more than 160 submissions from community members of all ages.
Thanks to the following for being engaged in this process: Nick Brown, Jr. (a student at Thames Elementary); LaToya Griffin (a Hattiesburg Parks & Rec employee); Lisa Lott; Caila Bowie (a parent of students at Thames Elementary); Christian Tisdale (9th grader at Hattiesburg High); Mike Peterson (the voice of the Hattiesburg High Tigers); Keiara Holloway, Elysia Hollingsworth, Cy’Lan Anderson (8th grader at N.R. Burger); Gabriel Eaton, Cathy Clark (a teacher at Lillie Burney); Michael Ginn; Jaleigha Porter (a 2nd grader at Grace Christian Elementary); and Julie Arender (an assistant principal at Hattiesburg High).
It was a good day to welcome a new fleet addition to our ranks. We look forward to sharing it with the community in the coming weeks!
The city also has a fire engine painted in black and gold colors honoring Southern Miss.
