STERLING – After a sobering report on the condition of the Sterling Fire Department’s apparatus, many have asked: “How did we get here?”

How did the department end up with an aerial truck that has been out of commission the past 10 months? Why are there two fire engines that are in need of so many repairs, leaving the fire department with one reliable fire engine? What is the plan to shore up the fleet?

To answer those questions, we need to go back a few years.

The fire department’s situation appears to mirror a nationwide problem that comes down to changes in the Environmental Protection Agency requirements and COVID-19-related kinks in the supply chain.

“This is an issue affecting fire departments across the country,” said Kerry Federer, secretary-treasurer of the Illinois Firefighters Association. “Part of the problem is the change in the EPA requirements caused problems with getting a chassis. If you can’t get a chassis, you can’t build a fire truck. I think that’s also where some of the backlogs first started out.”

On Aug. 5, 2021, the EPA launched a three-year plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants from heavy-duty trucks through a progressive series of rules. The Clean Trucks Plan was completed in March, with the signing of the final two rules focusing on greenhouse gases for heavy-duty engines and emissions standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles.

Sterling Fire Chief Forrest Reeder said supply chain issues during the COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to a backlog of apparatus orders that have increased wait times for these vehicles.

“I’ve been around a while now, and when I first started the business, you could get an engine in under a year,” Reeder said. “Now, it’s two years for an engine and up to three years for a truck with an aerial ladder.”

Reeder said his October presentation to the Sterling City Council detailing the fleet’s needs was meant as a budgeting tool to assist the city.

“The council, the mayor and the city manager have been tremendously responsive to the fire department’s needs,” Reeder said. “Because there is the potential for some pretty large capital expenditures down the road, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, [but] certainly in the near future, we wanted to prepare them as they start thinking about next year’s budget.”

According to Reeder’s presentation during the City Council meeting, this is how the fire department’s transportation roster shakes out:

Truck/Tower 4

The department’s only truck with an aerial ladder was purchased in May 2021 for $319,000. Its first significant repair occurred a little over a year later, in August 2022, at a cost of $9,200, with other substantial repairs following only a year later. The truck has cost the department more than $200,000 in repairs since its purchase.

‘The Twins’

These two fire engines were aptly nicknamed by SFD for sharing many of the same repair issues.

Engine 3 was purchased in December 2021 for $150,000. Its first major repair followed almost a year later with a repair bill of almost $28,000. Since its purchase, it has cost the department more than $75,000 in repairs.

Engine 5 was purchased just a few weeks later, in January 2022, for $150,000. It also needed its first significant repair a year after being purchased, at a cost of $28,000. The department has spent just more than $119,000 repairing the engine since its purchase.

Moving forward

“No matter how we got here, we’re responsible for keeping the fleet moving, and that is our goal,” Reeder said. “We’re hoping that this week we will have good news from both of the vendors who are working on both Tower 4 and Engine 3. It is our full intent to get those running and back in service.”

Reeder said he hopes that the repairs on Tower 4 and Engine 3 will buy the department and the city some time while they develop a plan to replace both vehicles.

“Our hope is Engine 3 comes back to us in the very near future with the new transmission and a few other things that had to be repaired on it, and it gives us another three to five more years of good, reliable service,” Reeder said. “Same thing with Tower 4. That is getting a lot of work that needed to be done to pass certifications and remain reliable.”

The department is working on a timeline that proposes when its different apparatuses should be moved from the front line to reserve status, as well as when they should be replaced.

The initial replacement schedule that Reeder shared at the council meeting proposed Tower 4 should have been moved to reserve status in 2022 and replaced by 2032, but as the department’s only truck with an aerial ladder, that has not been an option. That proposal also suggested moving Engines 3 and 5 to reserve status by 2026 and then replacing them a decade later.

Reeder said there are multiple options to consider moving forward, including discounts for prepaying for a new apparatus or payment plans spanning the build of the vehicle. He also is exploring state and federal grants.

“The Assistance to Firefighters Grant is awarded every year and funds capital purchase programs such as fire trucks, Air-Paks, firefighter gear, rescue vehicles, ambulances and all sorts of things,” Reeder said. “It is a competitive process that is vetted by a peer group.”

Mayor Diana Merdian said the city is working with SFD to devise a plan and is considering its options.