The fire truck is here — and according to Deputy Chief Gordon Houston, a Seaside volunteer who is a professional firefighter in Portland, this is top-of-the line apparatus.

Even Portland doesn’t have a vehicle that can match the features of Seaside’s tractor-drawn aerial quint #3148, manufactured by Rosenbauer and delivered to Seaside in early December.

“It’s really a step up for the safety of the community,” Mayor Jay Barber said at the Dec. 23 City Council meeting. “If you’re up on the WorldMark, you’ve got to feel better at night, sleeping on that top floor.”

Fire truck committee members Houston, firefighter Katie Bulletset, Division Chief David Rankin and Chief Joey Daniels, appeared before council to seek approval of final payment for the rig.

After a pre-chassis payment of $259,000, the council approved an addition $862,000 toward the final $1.16 million purchase.

The 60-foot-long truck provides five functions: pump, water tank, fire hose, aerial device and ground ladders. The ladder, at 100 feet, is able to reach the top of WorldMark, the city’s tallest building. The cab seats six and can store four air packs.

“It was a long process,” Daniels said. “Everybody had a role. My role was managing the budget. Dave and Gordon did a good job on the technical stuff. Katie worked with me to make sure we stayed on task.”

Daniels said the truck is “exceeding our expectations,” with maneuverability through every street in the city.

“We’ve already taken it around the Turnaround,” Daniels said. “Most every cul-de-sac in the city we’ve tried, to see if we could get stuck, and we haven’t found one yet that’s got us stuck.”

He said drivers are doing well learning the new vehicle.

The vehicle, even at 60-feet long, outmaneuvers other apparatus in the Seaside station, and even outperforms the Portland Fire Department quints.

“I work on a tractor-drawn aerial in Portland very similar to this one,” Houston said. “This one can do things that mine at work can’t do. … It turned out really good for us.”

The new arrival comes after a proposal first submitted to the City Council in late 2017.

The department’s 75-foot ladder truck remained in use while the new vehicle was built to specifications.

A fire department open house will celebrate the new arrival, Saturday, Jan. 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the firehouse, 150 S. Lincoln.