Brentwood Fire Chief Requests New Pumper Truck in 2013

Brentwood Fire Department’s every-day pumper truck is close to 10 years old. Fire Chief Ted Jury is requesting that the city replace it with a new one in 2013.

Jury recommended, at the Sept. 27 Public Safety Committee meeting, that the city sell its 20-year-old reserve pumper, put its current pumper into reserve status, and buy a new truck, at a cost of approximately $800,000.

He said Brentwood has traditionally rotated a new fire truck in every seven to eight years, and Brentwood’s current front line pumper is from 2002. The current reserve pumper was bought in 1994. He said the industry recommendation is a 20-year age limit.

“I’m recommending a heavy duty rescue pumper, which is considerably different than the truck we have now,” he said. “The truck we have now is a run-of-the-mill fire truck, it doesn’t have a lot of versatility.”

He said a new truck and the equipment on the truck, are separate purchases. He has looked into lease/purchase financing, which he said has lower interest rates. The truck and the equipment could be combined into one agreement.

Jury said Assistant Chief Terry Kurten has “covered every square inch” of the new truck considering new equipment. Safety is the department’s first priority, Jury said.

The new truck would have more storage room. He’d like a new, stronger jaws of life, rescue saws, hoses, and a system that refills breathing tanks at the scene of a fire. He said some of the old equipment could be moved over to a new truck.

Jury said the truck bought in 1994 could be sold on consignment for from $20,000 to $45,000 on the conservative side, to as high as $80,000.