KNOX — With a second election and more than 100 additional residents casting ballots, voters in the Knox Fire District gave permission Tuesday for the sale of a 14-year-old tanker truck.

A total of 136 people voted, with 42 against and 94 in favor of the sale. Fire commissioners said it would start a 21-year rotation for its equipment to help keep the fleet in working order and tax increases stable.

“I didn’t look at it as a personal win or anything like that. I was just happy that the people are willing to support the whole operation,” said Robert Deitz, a district commissioner and longtime member of the company.

In August, the same referendum resulted in a vote of 15 to 15. Frank Fuss, the district’s secretary, said a typical election for fire commissioners in Knox sees a turnout of around 25 people.

“I can only assume that the letter we sent out to the members of the fire district had its effect,” Fuss said. He said the cost of the second election to the district was around $850.

With the sale of the truck, the district will have just one truck from the year 2000 and some cash that it can use to offset the cost of a new, custom-made truck with a strong engine and roll-over protection. The tanker to be sold won't actually leave the district until a new one is ready to be in service.

The new truck is under design, meant to respond to structural fires with everything needed in one vehicle, since people available during the day aren’t volunteering like they once did.

After the election, the commissioners can contact a vendor who is interested in the truck, Deitz said, and continue their meetings on designing the new truck, which has been planned for two years. He said he hopes a referendum on the purchase of a new truck will take place in the spring.