To better quickly respond to various emergencies, be they fires or motor vehicle accidents, Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Company has put into service its new "command car," a quick-response vehicle that will travel to incidents rapidly, thus allowing its driver to swiftly gauge the scope of an emergency and relay that information back to fire company members.

Hawleyville Fire Chief John Basso said December 19, the 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, which is owned by the fire company, replaces a 2006 Ford Expedition SUV, which the fire company had used as a command car after the Ford was retired from service by the town fire marshal's office.

The Chevrolet, which is equipped with "police package" and "towing package" upgrades, is expected to stay in service for about a decade, Chief Basso said. Hawleyville volunteer firefighters did fundraising projects to buy the vehicle, he said. The command car's value, including its various emergency equipment, is approximately $50,000.

To allow a quick response to emergencies, the command car will be kept at the residences of four top fire company officers on a rotating, weekly basis, Chief Basso said. The Chevrolet carries a range of emergency gear including medical supplies, a defibrillator, a thermal imaging camera, and a meter that reads natural gas levels.

The Ford that previously served as the fire company's command car had simply gotten too expensive to keep on the road, so the decision was made to acquire a new vehicle for that role, the chief said.

The bright red Chevrolet is detailed with sets of stripes and the company's crest on its doors. The vehicle has a light bar on its roof that projects brilliant red and blue light, a feature intended to make the command car highly visible on calls, especially at motor vehicle accidents on Interstate 84.