They’re older than many of the volunteer firefighters who drive them.
That was the message Shelton Fire Department officials had for the Board of Aldermen Tuesday when a small contingent attended the board’s special meeting to appeal for the funds to buy four new trucks – two rescue trucks, a pumper and a ladder truck.
After listening to their plea, city officials vowed Tuesday to work overtime to get a referendum question on the Nov. 2 ballot asking to approve more than $3 million for the trucks.
The four trucks – one 24 years old, two more than 25 years old and the fourth 33 years old — would actually replace six that are currently in use, Fire Chief Fran Jones said.
Four trucks would be retired for good, he said, while two others, both built in the early 1990s, would be placed on stand-by status.
“Some of my firefighters driving these trucks weren’t even born when they were made,” Jones said.
And every year when the trucks are sent for mandated certification, it’s always feared that they will fail, he said.
“We are still making it,” Jones said, “but every year when they come back we’re scared they won’t meet the standards.”
Because of the amount of money involved, residents must approve the purchase at a referendum, according to the City Charter.
The trucks are one of several items that need upgrading, Jones said.
“We have many needs in the department, and we are taking it one step at a time,” he said.
(Click on the video at left to see a promotional video from the Echo Hose Co.)
Some of the steps are small, Jones said, like the recent order placed for 75 sets of fire gear.
The apparatus upgrades are one of the larger – and most expensive steps, he said, but is necessary for the protection of both the public and the firefighters.
And there’s other needs that should be addressed, he said, such as replacement of air packs that are so old they will soon be considered obsolete.
The air packs provide oxygen to firefighters while inside a burning building.
“In three years, [the Shelton department’s] air packs will be at the end of their life cycle,” Jones said, “and the cylinders will be
considered obsolete.”
It’s all part of the department’s capital improvement plan, Fire Commissioner Bruce Kosowsky said, but it has become more difficult to implement since the ordinance mandating a replacement fund for such purchases was eliminated.
Initially the board, led by chairman John Anglace, appeared to favor postponing the vehicle purchase until more details were available, but by the end of the presentation, they vowed to work to get the proposal before the voters in November.
“We will hold a special meeting and do whatever we have to in order to pull this together,” Anglace said.