City officials in Kingston are gearing up to finally approve a new ladder truck for the fire department. The Finance and Audit Committee has given the green light to Fire Chief Mark Brown for the purchase of a custom built rig just shy of a million dollars, at $950,000.
Brown had received initial bonding approval for the truck back in 2013, but the purchase got mired in red tape and other delays. "I was told not to buy the truck," Brown said. "It was an executive decision," Council Chairman James Noble recalled.
Now, due to rising costs, an additional $50,000 is required to purchase the same equipment, Brown explained. Further hesitation could result in the city's remaining 20-year-old ladder truck breaking down, which could raise local fire insurance rates.
"We have a lot of 3, 4, 5 story buildings in Kingston. A 35-foot ladder will not reach them," Brown said. Tall structures include two hospitals, Yosman Towers, and the County Office Building. "We're eight years overdue," he added, noting that the estimated life span of a typical ladder truck is only 12 years. "It's out of service a lot; it's starting to cost me money, a lot of money."
Rather than being sold, the old truck will be kept on fleet as a reserve backup ladder truck. Brown joked that the last truck KFD sold, had broken down on the way to Wisconsin.
Following common council ratification of the bond, Spartan ERV of Ephrata, PA will construct the truck to spec and deliver the vehicle in 390 days -- in 2018. The vehicle will weigh about 40 tons, with a 20-ton stainless steel ladder 100 feet tall.