ASHTABULA — The Ashtabula Fire Department has a shiny new $500,000 engine pumper to replace a unit in service since 2005.
The 47,000-pound Sutphen pumper is a high-tech wonder, capable of pumping 1,500 gallons of water per minute from its 750-gallon tank, Chief Shawn Gruber said.
“We are very, very pleased with it,” he said. “They did a great job.”
The engine pumper was built at the Sutphen plant in Dublin, just outside of Columbus, he said.
“We picked it up Feb. 5 and drove it to Richfield, where they mounted the hand tools,” Gruber said. “We brought it to the station late on (Feb. 14) and we worked on it, installing radios, etc.”
This week, firefighters are taking what Gruber refers to as “our new baby,” out on calls. So far, it gets an “A” for performance, he said.
Now that the new pumper has arrived, firefighters will use the previous pumper, which is 13 years old, as a reserve and sell the reserve pumper. The money from the sale will go toward the purchase of a new ambulance, he said.
“Our trucks are starting to show age with the salt and all from the roads,” Gruber said.
City Council President John Roskovics said he never realized what was involved in replacing a fire truck.
“We know our fire department is one of the best,” he said. “It’s important to help them to continue to provide excellent service to our residents.”
The city is buying the new fire truck through a manufacturer loan program that cost $59,000 per year for 10 years at 3.38 percent interest, City Manager Jim Timonere said.
That option was appealing because other loans are scheduled to be paid off during that period and the city could then pay off the fire truck loan early, he said.
———
©2019 the Star Beacon (Ashtabula, Ohio)
Visit the Star Beacon (Ashtabula, Ohio) at www.starbeacon.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
