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NEDERLAND — The Nederland Fire Department will donate an Aerial 11 ladder truck to Lamar Institute of Technology’s Fire Academy on Wednesday.

The 3:15 p.m. ceremony will take place at the Home Nagel Safety Complex in Nederland.

The fire truck will be used for training purposes, according to LIT’s Public Service & Safety Chair Nicole Mitchell.

Currently the department has two trucks.

“With rapid enrollment growth at the fire academy, the addition of this third truck will help us provide even more cadets with the vital hands-on training needed for them to succeed in the real world,” Mitchell said. “We are extremely grateful for this donation from the City of Nederland.”

LIT’s Fire Academy recently reached a milestone in training its 100th class of firefighters this semester.

The donation was made possible after the City of Nederland purchased a Pierce custom Velocity Aerial, heavy-duty ladder truck, which replaced the previous 1987 model.

And while the older one served the city well, it was at the point where maintenance was costly and deterioration was starting, Nederland Fire Chief Terry Morton said.

“And like any other equipment, sooner or later it will have to be replaced.”

The ladder on the new model is 100 feet and has a pumping capacity of 2,000 gallons per minute. The 1987 truck had a 75-feet ladder and 1,500 gallons per minute.

Nederland City Manager Chris Duque said the purchase price of the new ladder truck was $1.466 million and the city did not have to issue debt or adjust the tax rate to make the purchase.

READ & VIEW MORE: See why Nederland Fire Department’s new ladder truck is a 1st for Southeast Texas.