South Bend Fire Department unveils the new Rescue One fire truck

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- This morning was an important unveiling, years in the making, at Fire Station #1 in South Bend. 

There was quite a crowd this morning for the official unveiling of the new Rescue One fire truck. Even South Bend Mayor James Mueller was in attendance and mentioned how all the stations in the state are jealous of their new vehicle.

Steve Pritz, the Captain of Rescue One told ABC57:

"Well, it's been in the planning for three or four years, and we tried to design this rig so it can have growth in the future. Over the course of my career, a lot of things have changed in the rescue field, and we tried to keep that in mind... we have all kinds of extrication equipment. The Jaws of Life is what most people are familiar with, but we have shoring equipment, we have our dive equipment, all kinds of water stuff, roll up equipment, hazmat, so it covers a wide variety of rescue tools and equipment."

Earlier this year, the 2026 Rosenbauer Commander Heavy Rescue Vehicle was featured at FDIC International, an annual firefighting conference, where it drew significant attention. The vehicle is designed to hold a huge amount of emergency equipment, so it's always ready to respond to a wide range of emergencies. 

The new truck will be staffed by four highly trained personnel and will replace the current Rescue One truck, in operation since 2007.