WEYMOUTH, MA—Town council will consider funding more than $666,000 for a new fire engine to replace a 1994 truck that the department is currently using.
The council will hold a public hearing on the funding request at its meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.
Chief of Staff Ted Langill said the more than $666,000 needed to purchase the truck would come from $120,000 originally set aside to lease a new engine and about $546,000 in free cash. The town currently has more than $7 million in its free cash account, according to Langill.
The new fire engine would replace a 1994 truck currently used at Engine 2. The National Fire Protection Association recommends front-line fire apparatus be replaced every 15 years, meaning the current truck exceeds that standard by nearly 11 years. The town will receive a $4,000 credit for trading in the 1994 engine, according to the contract with Minuteman Fire & Rescue Apparatus, Inc.
The town plans to purchase a Pierce Enforcer — the same truck the town had custom built at a plant in Appleton, Wisconsin in 2017. The engine has a 750-gallon water tank and the ability to pump 1,500 gallons of water per minute. That truck came with the latest technology, such as hydraulic rescue tools, a thermal imager and a Pak Tracker system – equipment that helps locate firefighters during mayday situations.
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