Politics & Government
Selectmen Approve Contract To Rebuild Fire Truck
The town will save $470,000 versus the cost associated with buying a new apparatus, the Fire Chief said.
The fire department received approval Monday night to have its 16-year-old ladder truck rebuilt at a cost of $703,000.
Fire Chief Christopher Ackley told the Board of Selectman the rebuild will save the town $470,000, compared to the cost of a new truck.
Ackley said the department wanted to get the contract signed now in order to avoid having to install a new diesel engine that meets federal pollution control requirements going into effect in 2010. He said diesel engines meeting the new requirements cost an additional $25,000 to $30,000 and use technology requiring additional maintenance.
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The contract, which was approved unanimously by the town's three selectman, calls for the truck to be returned to its Ohio manufacturer, Sutphen Corporation, which delivered it in 1993. The body and chassis will be replaced, and its 95-foot-long ladder boom will be rebuilt.
Ackley said the finished truck will meet the current standards of the National Fire Protection Association for firefighting apparatus.
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Ackley said that despite careful maintenance and moderate use, "rust is becoming a critical factor with the chassis and frame," and the engine and transmission are having mechanical problems. He said the rebuilt truck will likely be serviceable for an additional 15 years or more, and might be worth rebuilding a second time in the future.
The work on the truck will take six months, Ackley said, during which Sutphen will lend the town another truck. He said the company will provide a two-year warranty on the entire vehicle and eight years on the paint. The engine manufacturer, Cummins, and transmission manufacture, Allison, will provide five-year warranties on their equipment.
First Selectman Gordon F. Joseloff said he remembered the day the truck was put into service, and found it remarkable how quickly time had past that it needed to be rebuilt.
Attending his first Board of Selectman meeting since being voted into office in November, Republican Selectman R. Gavin S. Anderson said he once had the opportunity to climb to the top of the truck's ladder, "and it's high."
At the opening of the meeting, Joseloff said "the Board (of Selectman) is incredibly strengthened" by having Anderson join it.
