BRUCEDALE – Guelph-Eramosa council has agreed to replace a fire services truck damaged while en route to a call earlier this month.
A report by CAO Ian Roger presented to the township’s committee of the whole on Feb. 19 stated, “On Feb. 9 around 8pm, the deputy chief was responding to a medical call in Car 1. The road conditions were poor due a significant snowfall. As Car 1 was travelling on Ash Street in Eden Mills and approaching the stop sign at Indian Trail, the vehicle did not stop due to the road conditions, entered the ditch on the north side of Indian Trail and struck the embankment.”
Roger noted, “As the emergency was still ongoing, the deputy chief attended the call with another firefighter in their personal vehicle. After the call, staff returned and pulled the truck out of the ditch. There was significant front-end damage. The OPP was contacted to obtain an incident number for insurance purposes. The officer deemed it a “slide off the road due to road conditions, ‘without fault’.
The CAO noted the truck was towed to Pruss Auto in Guelph and the deputy chief advised the undersigned and completed the required incident report.
Roger explained the insurance adjuster advised that even though it was a slow speed collision, the angle of impact in the ditch caused the frame to break in two places.
As such, the decision was made not to repair the truck.
The 2013 pick-up used by the deputy chief was due for replacement two years from now.
The vehicle has been stripped of all the emergency lighting, siren and equipment, and these will be used for the new truck.
The municipality’s insurance provider instructed staff to obtain a quotation for a comparable truck with specifications that mirrored Car 1.
The deputy chief went to Wellington Motors to get the requested quotation and the information was sent to the insurance company.
Large rebate
Although quotes on two of the trucks were for the same model, a third Dodge Ram SLT model had a large dealer rebate currently and is listed from $62,375 down to $46,782.
Roger’s report stated this truck has very similar technical specifications to Car 1 and seems to be a very good deal compared to the other trucks on this lot and other Dodge dealers that the deputy chief called.
Roger’s report stated the municipality’s insurer advised that the policy will provide $41,230 towards the replacement of Car 1.
As the loss of this vehicle is due to an accident, Roger said it is recommended that the insurance deductible and balance between the quoted price and the insurance payment be funded from the insurance reserve.
The deductible payment is $10,000 and the total difference between insurance and quoted price is $5,552 plus applicable taxes, less net HST rebate.
On Feb. 24, Mayor Chris White said council had agreed to move ahead with the purchase of the replacement vehicle.
