SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Vehicle breakdowns with the Shreveport Fire Department had them borrowing vital equipment from another city and a private business this weekend.

According to Clarence Reese, the Assistant to Shreveport’s Fire Chief, the department is being forced to put reserve trucks into use every day.

Fire Station 14 on Greenwood Road is already dealing with a fire truck wreck happening in late June. NBC 6 News crews were there when a reserve truck used to replace the damaged truck caught fire at Fire Station 14 last week.

The vehicle coming to replace that truck, according Reese, broke down in front of the station.

Reese says the fire department has a mechanic on call 24 hours a day and the vehicle had to undertake emergency repairs.

He adds that over the weekend, four to five med units also went down at various times due to coolant and other failures. It forced Shreveport Fire to lean on Bossier City and a private company, Balentine Ambulance, to transport people to area hospitals.

“We have a great working relationship with many of the agencies around including Balentine,” said Reese. “So Balentine was able to help us out, and they put one of their ambulances in one of our fire stations with their personnel on it. Bossier City’s Fire Department allowed us to utilize one of their reserve units and we put our personnel on that unit.”

Reese also says Engine 11, which works out of Fire Station 11 on Youree Drive, recently had to be towed due to transmission issues.

Reese says he’s hopeful that voters will vote in favor of bond Proposition 1 on the November ballot, which would provide over $70 million for Shreveport’s police and fire departments to improve facilities and equipment.