LEROY -- LeRoy's fire protection district and ambulance service have added new vehicles for their fleets.

Firefighters have spent the past two weeks training on and equipping a new fire truck. It is expected to go into service by Aug. 10, said Assistant Fire Chief Ed Underhill.

Meanwhile, the LeRoy Emergency Ambulance Service is preparing its first new ambulance since 2001. It is expected to go into service by the end of August, pending state certification.

The latest edition to the fire district is a 2009 Spartan-Alexis fire apparatus with a 1,000 gallon-per-minute pump and a 750-gallon tank. It has a 330 horsepower diesel engine and is equipped with ground sweeper nozzles on the front bumper for field, brush and grass fires.

The new engine features a six-man enclosed cab with seats fitted for firefighters wearing self-contained breathing apparatuses.

"These seats allow responding firefighters to have their SBCA on so they are ready to go when they arrive at the incident," Underhill said.

The department received a $150,000 no-interest loan through the Illinois state fire marshal's office to help pay for the truck, which cost a little more than $300,000, including equipment, Underhill said.

The 27-member volunteer fire department, which has an 84-square-mile service area, has five other firefighting vehicles.

New ambulance

The 2009 Chevrolet ambulance features new diagnostic equipment ranging from Doppler sound detection equipment for measuring fetal heartbeats to a carbon dioxide respiration monitor.

"The technology in this ambulance puts us on the cutting edge of pre-hospital health care," said Mark Doty, ambulance service administrator.

The $125,000 vehicle gives the 50-employee service a four-ambulance fleet. Two are based in Bloomington-Normal for a patient transfer business and the other two vehicles are based in LeRoy.

Doty said the ambulance was paid for mostly with private donations. Some of the cost was paid for with income from the transfer business.

Roger Miller contributed to this report.