WILTON — The Fire Department Truck Committee presented three options for equipment needs to the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday.
They are:
* Buying a ladder truck with aerial and pumping capabilities;
* Getting rid of the 1973 snorkel ladder truck and Engine 7 and getting an aerial truck with pumping capabilities; and
* Contracting with Farmington and Jay for aerial truck services.
The department has two pumper tankers and a squad truck in use, Assistant Chief Kyle Ellis said. Farmington and Jay departments have agreed to provide aerial truck assistance for up to a year without extra cost, he said.
The snorkel truck does not pass state certification, fire Chief Sonny Dunham said.
The board voted 3-1 to offer it to the fire training program at Foster Career and Technical Education Center in Farmington. If the center doesn’t want it, it will go to salvage.
Selectmen D. Scott Taylor, Tiffany Maiuri and Terry Brann voted for the motion. Selectman Paul Berkey opposed it because he thought the town was throwing away money that could go toward a new truck, he said.
Selectman Tom Saviello was absent.
With some welding of stress fractures on the snorkel frame, the school program could use it on campus property, Dunham said.
With an aerial truck, or quint, the department could combine two trucks and have a total of three big trucks, Ellis said. With less manpower responding to calls, it could be a useful piece of equipment, allowing fewer people to do more work, he added.
The committee includes Dunham, Ellis, Deputy Chief Tom Doak, Capt. Robert Burdick, Town Manager Rhonda Irish, Selectmen Maiuri and Brann, and Richard Hall.
“We’re looking at different options and exploring what are the best options for the town,” Ellis said. “Nothing will be done ’till 2015 and voters decide.”
The committee asked the board to set a date for a public meeting to explain the need and options. The board proposed holding the presentation July 15 at Academy Hill School.
Surveys on public safety have been given to some local businesses, Dunham said.
The committee plans to compile the results, present them to the board and explain them at the July meeting, Ellis said.
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