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J <br /> I would like to begin by answering some frequently-asked questions. <br /> • <br /> Why do we need 3 pumpers in a community as small as St. Anthony? <br /> The Insurance Services Office evaluates fire protection in a community and sets <br /> fire insurance premiums. They have discovered that fire has a poor sense of <br /> geometry and that a fire in the St. Anthony High School would require the same <br /> resources to extinguish as a high school fire in New York City. In evaluating St. <br /> Anthony, they have determined that we need a minimum of 3,000 GPM pumping <br /> capacity to protect key buildings in the City. This capacity requires 3 pumpers. <br /> We could probably get by with 2, but the resulting increase in insurance <br /> premiums throughout the city would exceed the cost of buying and maintaining <br /> the third pumper. <br /> Why is it necessary to replace a piece of equipment with only 21,000 <br /> miles on it? <br /> Most of a pumper's work is done while it's standing still and so engine hours are <br /> used to determine life expectancy and maintenance schedules. Interstate Diesel has <br /> supplied us with a formula to convert engine hours into miles driven and, using <br /> • this formula, all of our pumpers exceed 100,000 miles. Our newest pumper has <br /> an equivalent of 230,000 miles on it and is overdue for reserve status. <br /> Another factor is the fact that nearly every urban fire truck exceeds allowable <br /> vehicle load limits. The State allows us to do this and so we take advantage of it <br /> (the alternative would be to purchase more vehicles to carry the same amount of <br /> stuff). Consequently, the wear and tear on brakes, suspensions, and frames is <br /> greater than on regular commercial trucks. <br /> Why couldn't we purchase a smaller vehicle (i.e. a Suburban) to be <br /> used on non-fire activities? This would save wear and tear on our <br /> more expensive pumpers. <br /> This idea would work if we had the space to store an additional vehicle. We still <br /> require 3 pumpers and so the fire station would have to be expanded to <br /> accommodate the extra vehicle. Although this idea would give our pumpers a <br /> longer life expectancy, they still have to be replaced periodically and, with an <br /> additional vehicle being added to the replacement schedule, the savings would be <br /> minimal. Furthermore, the fire car is currently used to run many errands that <br /> • were previously done with a pumper. <br />