The city of Suffolk has better fire and rescue coverage today than it did yesterday, fire officials say.

That’s because at 8 a.m. Friday, a new engine company and ladder truck were set to be put into service at two different fire stations. The new equipment and the firefighters manning it will help better protect the city, interim Fire Chief Ed Taylor said.

“It is nice to have the opportunity to increase our level of protection for the citizens,” Taylor said.

Six firefighters were promoted to lieutenant, the first step of formal leadership in the fire department, during a ceremony Wednesday evening. They will backfill the positions of more experienced lieutenants that are being moved to the new equipment.

Funding was provided for the new positions in the current year’s budget, Taylor said.

The new ladder truck will be based at the King’s Fork fire station. The initial plan, when the station was built, was to fill it with an engine, an ambulance and a ladder truck, Taylor said.

The engine and ambulance already are there, and the ladder truck is the last step in bringing the facility to full capacity, he said.

The addition makes three ladder trucks in the city. The King’s Fork station serves the quickly-growing Route 10 corridor and King’s Fork area, which includes Sentara Obici Hospital, a couple of retirement communities and a number of large businesses.

The new engine company will be based at the Driver fire station. Growth in the area has mandated having an engine both there and at the Bridge Road station, Taylor said. Up until today, the engine company based at Bridge Road also covered Driver for part of the day.

The six newly promoted lieutenants — Roy Barry, Christopher Cornwell, Mark Hubbert, Andrew Savage, James Sessoms and Raymond Willet — have between six and 19 years of experience with the Suffolk Department of Fire and Rescue.

Taylor admonished them at their promotion ceremony on Wednesday to be responsible, listen to their employees’ concerns, avoid complacency and handle the challenges the job will throw their way.

“This is your first step as a formal leader,” he said. “You will be responsible to get the job done.”

Battalion Chief Andre’ Durham, who also spoke during the ceremony, encouraged the promotees to model the kind of motivation they want to see in the firefighters they supervise.

“A motivated, hardworking lieutenant usually leads to a motivated, hardworking engine company,” he said.