CC RES 97-034 RESOLUTION APPROVING PROCESS FOR THE PURCHASE OF A NEW FIRE PUMPER

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• RATIONALE Engine 21 is now 25 years old with 110,000 equivalent road miles, Engine 12 is 22 years old with 180,000 equivalent road miles, and Engine 11 is 12 years old with 230,000 equivalent road miles. Our hope is to replace Engine I 1 as a first- out unit and relegate it to reserve status before it becomes junk. When we do purchase a new pumper, Engine 21 will be taken out of service and either sold or kept as a parade rig. We could probably get about $10,000 for this vehicle but, with its open cab, this truck is ideal for use in parades (homecoming and Villagefest) and for the various fundraising acivities which we support. As you can see, delaying a decision to purchase a new truck will probably mean that all 3 trucks will have to be replaced during a relatively short span of time. I give Engine 12 about 5 - 10 more years of useful life and Engine 11 about the same. Refurbishing could stagger the replacement schedule somewhat. PROCESS New fire pumpers are currently-selling for $240,000 - $300,000. 1 plan to get a perfectly good pumper for about $225,000 by modifying the usual process. Traditionally, fire departments have defined their apparatus in terms of manufacturers' specs and, as a result, have received one or, at most, two bids. We will define our pumper in terms of performance specs, which means a number of apparatus manufacturers will be able to compete for the bid. Another cost reducer is using a commercial chassis instead of a custom chassis. This will not only reduce the cost, it will make future maintenance easier. If a new pumper is approved, I intend to form an apparatus committee involving a number of fire department personnel. This committee will be broken down into sub-groups, each one specializing in a component of the fire truck. I would expect our new pumper to look and perform much as our present ones do. Whether it's yellow or red is up to the committee. •