JAY — Selectpersons asked fire Chief Mike Booker and Deputy Chief Corey Leclerc on Monday to bring the board firmer numbers for a new utility truck and associated costs.
The department wants to replace a 2004 Ford F-350 utility truck with an extended cab and regular bed, with a new Ford F-550 with a service body and four-door extended cab.
It wants to take up to $70,000 out of the capital reserve account, which has $279,000. Another $85,000 will be added July 1.
The 2004 model does not meet the department’s needs, Booker said. It is hard to get a crew wearing gear in the back seat. The new utility truck could carry four or five firefighters with gear. The service body would allow easier access to the equipment, he said.
The new truck would take some of the load off the nearly 20-year-old Engine 1, which is the oldest in the fleet, he said. The department would use the utility truck for incidents such as vehicle accidents and medical calls instead of taking the engine.
More people would be able to drive the utility truck because it requires less training than driving an engine.
Firefighters have talked with several dealerships that sell Ford, Dodge and Chevrolet trucks and they looked at vehicle types and received some cost estimates. Chevrolet does not make the type of truck they are looking for, Leclerc said.
One quote for the truck was $39,900 with a trade-in value of $14,000, Booker said.
Additional costs include $18,500 for an aluminum service body, $5,000 for a light tower to illuminate incidents at night, $1,200 to $1,500 for lettering, among other associated equipment costs. They would put a 300-gallon tank on the truck with a pump. Booker estimated the utility truck would probably cost about $60,000 with all the necessary equipment.
Firefighters checked leftover trucks but with rebates and other factors it was less expensive to get a new truck, Leclerc said.
The utility truck is the next one to be replaced, but not until 2020, Booker said. Engine 1 is scheduled to be replaced in 2025 and the ladder truck in 2027.
Selectperson Tim DeMillo asked if getting the utility truck would extend the life of Engine 1.
“Honestly, I’m hoping it will get us to (2025),” Booker said.
“The newer truck would save fuel, mileage and wear and tear on Engine 1 so we don’t have to take any more money out of capital to fix it,” he said.
Selectperson Pearl Cook said she believed the department would get more use out of the newer truck than the one they have now.
“No matter how you look at it, it is a lot of money,” Selectperson Tom Goding said. “We are already on a pretty tight schedule for replacing stuff.”
The estimated cost to replace Engine 1 is $500,000, Booker said.
The department is discussing buying a combination engine and ladder truck to replace the current engine and the ladder trucks.
Another big project coming up in seven years is replacing air packs at an estimated cost of $100,000.
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
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