Sterling Fire Department presents recommendations for new $2M fire truck

STERLING – The Sterling Fire Department is asking the city to consider buying a new $2 million fire truck.

The recommendation to purchase a customized Rosenbauer King Cobra fire truck with a 101-foot articulating aerial ladder was made Monday during the department’s presentation to the Sterling City Council. Sterling Deputy Fire Chief David Northcutt said the new truck is needed to replace Truck/Tower 4, the department’s only truck with an aerial ladder.

The city granted the department permission to start planning specifications for the new fire truck shortly after interim Fire Chief Forrest Reeder presented a report last October on the “severe operational” issues plaguing the department’s vehicles and apparatus.

During that report, Reeder said that due to repairs, Truck/Tower 4 had “been in service less than 100 days in the less than three years” the department has had the vehicle.

Truck/Tower 4 was bought 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.

Northcutt said the new fire truck will be built by a single manufacturer, eliminating the need to send it to multiple vendors for repairs, and also would include improved safety features – such as roll protection and electronic stabilization – that the current truck does not possess. Truck/Tower 4 was manufactured by KME Fire Apparatus, which does not have a recognized local vendor.

“The next consideration is, what do we use this truck for?” Northcutt said. “Unfortunately, we have to plan for the worst. We have the steel mill crane operators that we possibly need to help, and which we have done in the past. We’ve been involved in grain bin rescues within the last year, not to mention the grain bin fires.”

If the City Council approves the department’s recommendation, Northcutt said that because of Environmental Protection Agency requirements on emissions, it will take 18 to 24 months to get the new fire truck once the order is submitted.

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.

Supply chain issues during the COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to a backlog of apparatus orders that have increased wait times for these vehicles.

Northcutt said there are several payment options to consider, with discounts for paying the cost upfront versus making payments.

“To help the cost, we would be selling our [current] aerial,” Northcutt said. “We are also wanting to reduce our apparatus by one engine. We’re about to get our engine that’s been up in Wisconsin getting worked on. We’re hoping that the engine is going to give us about eight years of life before we have to replace it. We want to sell its twin. It’s estimated that we could possibly get $500,000 between the two.”

The fire department could save an additional $50,000 if it can use its current emissions motor, but Northcutt said that is not guaranteed.

“I can appreciate buying new so we don’t get a lemon like we did on the last unit,” 3rd Ward Alderman Josh Johnson said. “I think you guys have done your due diligence. When you put dollars on the road, it’s less than $100,000 a year for us to use a truck that we absolutely need.”

During the City Council meeting, City Manager Scott Schumard said there is “adequate” funding in the city’s capital fund from previous savings, and the purchase would not affect currently planned road repair expenditures should the City Council approve it.

The presentation was only for discussion, and no action was taken during the City Council meeting.