(file photo/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

Updating equipment

City approves new fire truck purchase

Aug 20, 2021 | 2:45 PM

The City of North Battleford approved a new fire truck purchase at this week’s meeting, to replace an older vehicle.

Council authorized the city to purchase a new pumper truck in the amount of $759,841, to be exempt of PST, and excluding GST, from Rocky Mountain Phoenix, through the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) Consortium Purchasing Program. And, that the purchase shortfall from what was budgeted be reallocated from the City of North Battleford’s capital reserve fund.

City director of protective services fire chief Lindsay Holm said using the consortium purchasing program will help save the city about $10,000 on the purchase.

The purchase of the new truck was to be spread over two years to alleviate some of the pressures for the taxpayers.

On the overage from what was budgeted, Holm said the increased cost of the purchase was unexpected.

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“The cost to the fire apparatus in the last year has risen astronomically, and it’s something that I couldn’t foresee when I started this budget process,” he said.

Some of the reasons attributed for the higher cost are the increased value of the U.S. dollar compared to Canadian currently, as well as changes to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards.

The current truck needed to be replaced as it has reached its service life span.

“I wanted something that is going to be reliable for our city for the next 20 years,” Holm said.

Now that council approved the purchase, the new truck will take about a year to be built and delivered. In the meantime, the city will continue to use the older vehicle.

Council will decide at that point how to dispose of the truck being retired, whether to give it to the Rotary Club to donate, provide it to another community, or try to sell it.

Holm said he doesn’t believe the older vehicle will make much money if it is sold at this point.

He mentioned it’s important for the fire department to keep its equipment up to date.

“We’ve got great equipment,” Holm said. “When we have good equipment and it’s being replaced and maintained properly, it really does extend the life of the apparatus we have, and ultimately it will end up saving taxpayers money.”

It is also critical to keep the fire department equipment in good shape, to be compliant with insurance underwriter’s requirements. This helps ensure fire insurance rates stay low, as Coun. Greg Lightfoot said. Currently, the city’s rates are among the lowest rates in the province.

Holm also indicated in his report the city would not need to purchase another apparatus in the coming years due to the improved design of this truck it is purchasing now.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow