The price tag to replace the Middletown Volunteer Fire Department’s 2000 pumper truck with a new unit is $650,000 to $700,000.

The borough has $136,000 in a fund to help the department buy new equipment. The pumper has trade-in value or can be sold to a third-party vendor, but the department will need outside revenue to pay for the new apparatus, the chief said.

“My guys cannot perform enough fundraisers to raise that kind of money, with the amount of man hours they put in on top of fundraisers” in responding to calls and keeping up training, Whitebread said.

He is requesting council approve the borough being a co-applicant with the department to apply for a gaming grant through Dauphin County to help pay for a new pumper.

The apparatus was purchased thanks to funding through a Local Government Capital Improvement Grant for $270,900. The grant covered 75 percent of the vehicle's cost. The grant was a cooperative effort between trustees of Noble, Tiffin and Delaware townships to improve fire protection.

The truck is 26 feet in length, and 11 feet, 1 inch tall.

It has a walk-in heavy-duty rescue body, and its enclosed cab can seat up to six personnel, including the driver.

It carries a breathing air cascade system with booster pump for refilling air pack bottles on scene.

There is a compartment on the extended front bumper that has Holmatro hydraulic rescue tools and built in hose reels in it.

The fire department celebrated the new truck with a push-in ceremony during the unveiling. This tradition involves fire personnel banding together to push the fire truck into the station.

The 59-foot-long Tractor Drawn Aerial ladder truck weighs more than 68,000 pounds.

At its meeting May 8, City Council approved the truck purchase and an ordinance increasing the maximum number of firefighter paramedics in the department from 20 to 23. 

Fire Chief Steve Rega explained that increasing the maximum number of paramedics allows for more staffing throughout the work day and more efficient response times.

He said the department has seen a 5 percent increase in EMS calls over the last year. This, in addition to a 24-hour care nursing home coming to the city in the next year, is why the ordinance was proposed.