Wilmington Fire Department welcomes new ladder truck to fleet

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The Wilmington Fire Department will officially introduce a major new addition to its fleet this week during a public roll-in ceremony at Fire Station 8.

The department is adding Truck 8, a 2025 107-foot tandem rear axle ladder truck designed to significantly enhance firefighting and rescue capabilities. The new apparatus is equipped with more than 170 feet of ground ladders, a full suite of vehicle extrication tools, a 2,000-gallon-per-minute pump, and 500 gallons of onboard water. It also carries ventilation equipment and forcible entry saws used in structural firefighting operations.

Truck 8 replaces a 20-year-old ladder truck that will now be moved into reserve status.

The new unit will be housed at Wilmington Fire Station 8 on Eastwood Road, where it will operate alongside Engine 8. Together, the two companies serve a busy and growing section of the city, including the Eastwood Road, South College Road, and Market Street corridors, as well as parts of the densely populated campus of the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

The area includes a mix of residential neighborhoods, commercial development, and critical infrastructure such as Corning’s fiber-optic manufacturing facility, making rapid response capabilities especially important for the department.

The roll-in ceremony is scheduled for Monday, May 11, at 2:00 p.m. at Fire Station 8, and will provide community members an opportunity to see the new truck and meet the firefighters who will operate it.