ThisWeek CW 12/3/2015
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/11/30/madison-township-fire-department-officials-expect-to-see-new-fire-truck-delivered-in-spring.html
The Madison Township Fire Department moved up its timeline for replacing an aging fire truck.
Fire Chief Robert Bates asked Madison Township trustees for approval Nov. 18 to purchase a new fire engine at a total cost of $575,342; the price includes a pre-payment savings of $29,958 if the order is processed prior to the end of the year.
According to Bates, the new truck will replace Engine 182, which was totaled in an accident this summer. It was close to being replaced anyway because it was more than 10 years old and had more than 100,000 miles on it, Bates said.
The department has two other engines that are also nearing the end of their usefulness and will need to be replaced as well, but Bates has not requested money for those.
“Because we have replacement value insurance on the engines, the insurance will settle our claim once we’ve signed the contract for the new truck,” Bates said.
“They’ve already provided us with the number that we have to match for what they’ll pay out; it will take a couple weeks for that check to come from the insurance company after we’ve paid for the new truck upfront.”
For this reason, the trustees approved payment from township funds which will then be reimbursed in total by the insurance company.
Because the department’s fire engines range in age from 10 to 20 years old, it had already convened a working group to design the new truck’s requirements before Engine 182 was involved in the accident. The new engine is expected to be delivered in early spring 2016.
Firefighter Jim Looney said the working group looked at vehicles from Pierce, Sutphen, Rosenbauer and Seagrave.
“We … decided to purchase the Pierce based on overall quality, design, maintenance, safety features and dealer assistance,” Looney said.
The new engine will be almost four feet shorter than the current engines, but it will be more maneuverable and will use less power.
“I think they did an excellent job and made a good decision,” Bates said. “They struggled with some issues and decisions, but things like the shorter wheel base that is more maneuverable and better storage design made it a good choice.
“We took a demo version of this truck down West Street in Canal Winchester. It doesn’t get any narrower than that and this truck dealt with it just fine,” he added.