‘Almost new’ aerial truck tops Fire Department’s wish list

CHARLES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP

‘Almost new’ aerial truck tops Fire Department’s wish list

Council considers remanufactured engine to replace aging apparatus

A nearly-new aerial platform fire truck is on the city’s mind, and an upcoming opportunity may give substantial savings, Fire Chief Eric Whipple told the Charles City Council on Monday evening.

A refurbished, Sutphen-brand fire truck will be entering the market in Jan. 2016 with a brand-new cab, bucket, engine and other pieces would cost the city half of the $1.1 to $1.2 million a completely new truck would cost, with very few used parts remaining on the remanufactured truck. Sutphen is asking $734,250 for the truck, on a first-come first-serve selling basis.

“A general letter of intent would hold it for us until we made a decision,” Whipple said. “We wouldn’t be out anything if we backed out.”

An aerial truck gives the fire department more length and height to fight industrial fires that could someday face Charles City businesses, Whipple said, something that a typical fire engine can’t always provide. Charles City’s current aerial engine has been in service for 34 years. Refurbishing the city’s current truck would cost about the same and keep their engine out of commission for about a year. A department in New York has already expressed interest in the truck, Whipple said, encouraging the city to consider a letter of intent.

A letter may not be as effective as offering to review a contract, city attorney Ralph Smith said.

“Most letters of intent are exactly what they sound like,” Smith said, meaning letters have no legal holding for either party. “If you want the truck and think it’s a good truck, and you’ve got the money, why not just say, ‘send us a contract to review and we’ll either accept it or not accept it?’” City administrator Steve Diers will begin looking at funding requirements as the fire department begins contract negotiations for the aerial truck, the council decided.

“This is a justifiable need that any one of us could walk out into the community and make a very strong argument (for),” council member DeLaine Freeseman said.

By Kate Hayden khayden@charlescitypress.com