Sam Galski

Standard-Speaker, Hazleton, Pa.

(MCT)

Oct. 26—Hazleton Fire Department expects delivery of two new pumper trucks within the next two weeks while a new ladder truck could arrive early next year, the city’s fire chief said.

An ongoing effort to upgrade the fire department’s fleet resumed recently with a vote cast by city council to sell a 2002 KME pumper truck and a 1987 Mack pumper truck.

Two 2021 model pumper trucks that will replace those vehicles should arrive within the next week or two, Fire Chief Donald Leshko said.

After radios and other equipment are installed, crews will train on the new pumpers before they are placed into service in two to three more weeks, Leshko estimates.

The pumper trucks will be stationed at the Diamond and 14th Ward fire stations, effectively giving the entire north side of the city a boost in fire protection, Leshko said.

“This will give more solid protection, not only for firefighters but for the citizens we are trying to protect,” he said.

A third vehicle that is part of the estimated $2.4 million fire apparatus upgrade — a 2021 ladder truck — will be delivered in early- to mid-2023, Leshko said. That vehicle replaces a 1995 KME ladder truck and will be stationed at the Southside Fire Station on East Broad Street.

Efforts to upgrade the city’s fire fleet date to October 2020, when council authorized the city to sign a purchase agreement. A resolution approved at the time capped the purchase price at $2.5 million, though officials said the price could change when the custom-built vehicles get to the design phase.

Administrators initially planned to pay for the new vehicles by refinancing debts and floating a $3 million bond issue.

The refinancing, however, did not go forward as the city instead opted to use money from a number of accounts to pay debts.

Administrators have since earmarked $2.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to pay for the three fire vehicles.

In hindsight, Leshko said the decision to buy the three vehicles at once rather than spacing out the purchases over several years saved the city at least $600,000 when considering prices that have skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We saved a great amount of money just because of everything going on with the economy (and) parts and supplies,” Leshko said. “It’s taking a little while to get the order. With parts, supplies and manufacturing there’s been a delay but it’s something that everyone is experiencing. On the positive side, it was a collaborative effort by the fire department, administration and council. We saved a drastic amount of money.”

Advantages

Leshko said the new apparatus will help firefighters operate more efficiently and effectively and cut down on costly repair projects on older apparatus.

The new vehicles are covered under warranty for two years, he said.

Officials will also no longer have to hunt down parts for older vehicles that can be difficult to find or have to be completely rebuilt, he said.

“With the 1987 Mack, we had a fuel pump go in it,” he said. “We had to have it rebuilt in Michigan and had to have it reinstalled. You can’t get a fuel pump for it. With the newer rigs, everything is modernized and efficient.”

Inventory

The new vehicles will join a fleet that consists of a 2017 KME pumper, a 2008 KME pumper and a 2011 KME ladder truck.

Officials will accept bids for the 1987 Mack pumper and the 2002 KME pumper for about two more weeks and will be available until the new apparatus goes into service, the chief said.

Proceeds from the sale of the

After years of using hand-me-down apparatus, Terra (UT) has gotten its first new fire truck, ever, in its 40-year history, according to a report published by KSLTV 5.

According to the report, the new brush truck cost about $100,000and was funded by Tooele County under the Utah Cooperative Wildfire Systems. It is equipped with firefighting and medical gear.

Before the new truck arrived, firefighters could not depend on the apparatus being reliable and often joked they shouldn’t turn off the trucks until they returned to the station for fear of them not starting again, according to the report.

Residents in Riverside Village (IL) will have new fire apparatus protecting the community after the village board members voted to purchase a new Pierce Enforcer pumper for $698,000, according to a report published by the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark.

According to the report, the new engine cost $698,000 and is being paid for with some of the roughly $1.2 million the village received from the American Rescue Plan Act fund. And, because the apparatus was bought through a consortium of government agencies purchasing program, the village did not have to go through a competitive bid process, the report said.

The new engine will be completed within 18 to 20 months, according to the report.  

No one was hurt when a semi-trailer truck hit a Plainfield (IL) Fire Protection District reserve truck as it was blocking a previous crash on Interstate 55 on Tuesday morning, according to a report published by Local Today, Illinois News.

According to the report, the crashed into the engine at about 11:45 am at the scene of a single-car crash while crews were examining the driver who declined medical treatment.

The report says the fire engine sustained damage to the driver’s side. The mirror was ripped off, the windshield was smashed and metal on the door was damaged, the report said, noting that firefighters expect the damage to be repaired quickly.

A new $800,000 fire engine was put in service with the Columbus (GA) Fire Department on Monday morning, the first new truck to join the fleet in five years, according to a report published by WRBL News 3.

The report says the truck was funded with money from the American Rescue Plan as well as money from the general fund. The new apparatus is one of five new engines and two ladder trucks the department will be adding to its fleet in the next five months, according to the report.

The new engine, which was pushed into the station by firefighters as part of a long-standing tradition, was put in service fully equipped and ready to go, complete with a host of new technology, according to the report.