The Spring Lake Park-Blaine-Mounds View Fire Department is looking at downsizing, but not in the traditional sense.
The Blaine City Council voted last week to approve the sale of $1.5 million in bonds for the purchase of five new fire department vehicles that will include three 500-gallon capacity "mini-pumpers"; the minis are markedly smaller than the 1991 models they'll be replacing. The other two cities have agreed to make payments to help service the debt.
It's a matter of right-sizing the trucks to the demands that are put upon them, said SBM Fire Chief Nile Zikmund.
The 20-year-old engines that are being replaced hold 1,200, 1,000 and 750 gallons of water. It turns out that with adequate notice, the department can put down a house fire with less than 300 gallons, Zikmund said. Also, firefighters on the scene always hook up to a supplemental water source -- either a hydrant or the department's 2,500-gallon tanker truck.
The new trucks are 15 to 20 percent smaller than the older models. That translates to about 5 feet shorter in length and about a foot less in height. They should be more fuel-efficient, require less maintenance and cost less to buy, Zikmund said. Plus, taking off 500 gallons of water is the equivalent of two tons, he said.
"If you take two tons off the truck, you reduce the size of the engine, you reduce the size of the braking system, the transmission, the radiator, it all scales down," he said. "The smaller you go, the smaller the engine, which makes it more efficient, which ties in to your braking systems. If you have to stop two less tons every time you stop, which is a lot, it adds up over time."
The Fire Department has budgeted $400,000 for each truck, including new hoses and other equipment. The base price for the engine is likely to be less than $365,000. An engine of the size the department had been ordering runs to more than $500,000.
In addition, because of the district's aggressive building codes, enacted in 1983, all of the schools and "the vast majority" of the churches, businesses, apartment and industrial buildings have been built or retrofitted with sprinkler systems, Zikmund said.
"Our fire problem is now reduced to working house fires," he said.
In addition to the engines, the department is making its annual purchase of a new chief's vehicle, and also a new compressor unit that will be used to refill firefighters' breathing apparatus, and as a space where they can warm up or cool down during fire calls. The equipment will be taken off the current unit, which will then be put to a new use.
The department has not yet settled on a manufacturer; the committee still is completing its specifications. When that's done, Zikmund hopes to make a purchase in conjunction with a buying cooperative based in Texas, though he is open to going through the slower traditional bid process if he believes the department can get a better deal.
In any case, he said, he hopes to take delivery on the vehicles by the end of the year.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
