Published on 4/19/2007 in TheDay.com
By Fay Abrahamsson

A committee set up to investigate the issue of Clinton's aging fire trucks has recommended one new vehicle be purchased in the near future. The Board of Selectman (BOS) voted in favor of the motion.

Gerard Campion, who represented the Board of Finance on the committee, told the BOS that the two pumpers are quickly receding into old age.

“One of them needs a new pump but the engine is okay,” said Campion. “The other one had the engine refurbished, but the pump barely passed its recertification.”

It has been 19 years since the town purchased two “pumpers,” or fire trucks for the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department. They were paid for and acquired at the same time and, as time went on, both aged in the same manner.

A committee was formed to determine what the future could hold for these two aging vehicles, both still in use at the Glenwood and downtown fire stations. The committee presented its findings to the BOS at last week's regularly scheduled meeting.

The committee, comprised of Campion, Selectman David Townsend, Mike Finkeldey, Kenneth Archer, and Frank Schrempp, researched the cost of possible major overhauls to the pumpers versus the cost of a brand new truck.

Chiefs in other towns noted a rule of thumb: if it costs more than 50 percent of a new truck to renovate an old one, then it is more efficient and wise to buy the new one.

Campion said that he feels it's not fiscally feasible for the town at this time to buy two new fire trucks, but his committee was recommending the town buy one new vehicle and conduct an independent analysis of the two older trucks to see what could be salvaged.

The cost of two brand new trucks would be about $1 million, he noted.

“Let's find a way, if possible, to Band-Aid the two older ones so we can buy a new pumper in the near term,” noted Campion.

Fire Chief Jeffrey Heser reminded the BOS that the current rescue truck will need to be replaced in 2012.

The committee also explored whether it is wise to purchase a custom truck or one “off the lot,” noted Campion.

When speaking with other fire departments with paid personnel, a mixture of paid and volunteers, and all volunteer, the message was that departments comprised of all volunteers should “go custom,” he said.

The reason for this, he explained, is that larger departments with paid personnel have people on site on a regular basis who can spend time outfitting a truck to its own specifications.

Campion ended the meeting saying that his committee has done its job and it is now up to the selectmen to take the torch.

“It's now on your table to direct where it shall go now,” he said to the selectmen.

A motion to pursue its recommendation was made and voted on favorably by the board.

Yet another committee will be formed to look into the purchase of one new pumper and the retrofitting of the two older trucks. The new group, yet to be formed, will be comprised of one member from the BOS, one member from the Board of Finance, a member at large from the public, and up to four members from the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department.

Once a vehicle is chosen and ordered, it takes between 14 and 18 months for a new truck to be built and delivered to the town.