Richland's Neptune Fire Co. has a new fire truck -- well, almost new. "It is not quite brand new,"Matt Marks, chief of Neptune Fire Co., said. "The chassis is new, but the box is from the original truck we had which was built in 1993."
The refurbished truck, which was financed by Lebanon Federal Credit Union, now has a Spartan chassis, a Cummins engine and an Allison transmission, which will make it easier for the fire company to get replacement parts, which was not the case with the original Volvo chassis.
"That was one of the big factors in our decision to refurbish the truck -- the Volvo factor," Marks said. "We've already had to wait to have parts made in Sweden, and shipped to us -- that is a 10-week process, and it isn't cheap."
Because of the truck's age, original parts were becoming scarce for it in the U.S.
"About seven years ago, the transmission went out on it, and at that time there were only two transmissions for it in the country, one in Baltimore and one somewhere in Minnesota, and we got one of them," Marks said. "I guarantee there isn't another transmission floating around for it anywhere."
While the truck is technically refurbished by Fire Line Equipment, 4652 Division Highway, East Earl, Lancaster County, it is practically a new truck, according to Marks.
"It is like if you take a pickup truck, and you keep the bed, but replace the cab, chassis, transmission and everything else," he explained. "It is virtually a brand new truck, but for half the price of a brand new truck."
A new truck costs about $700,000, according to Marks.
"We spent about $380,000," Marks said.
Some of the funding for the truck came from Neptune's savings fund, and some of it came from financing through the credit union, Marks said.
"We get some funding from the borough, and some through fundraising -- the income is sporadic," Marks said. "We sat down with several different banks, but the credit union helped us out by tailoring a loan for us. They really worked with us to make this happen."