ERIN – Town council has accepted a bid of $547,945 for a pumper-rescue fire truck to replace the 33-year-old pumper at Station 10 in Erin village.
The job was awarded on Dec. 18 to the lowest qualified bidder, Dependable Emergency Vehicles of Brampton, with delivery expected in October 2019.
Just over two years ago, councillors approved a $427,392 bid for a similar truck from Asphodel Fire Trucks of Norwood, Ontario, but the company went out of business earlier this year before the truck was built.
Town officials say they are still optimistic about getting back the $118,650 deposit paid.
The price of the new truck includes an extra $25,000 to enlarge the cab as a rehab area where firefighters can go to rest when working under harsh conditions.
The new pumper-rescue will be funded partially by money borrowed in 2016 for the Asphodel truck.
Additional funds will come from the fire truck reserve, and if money is recovered from Asphodel, it will be deposited into that reserve.
Council had approved up to $521,000 for the original truck. Most of the bids were over $500,000, but Asphodel came in at $427,392.
The town issued a new request for proposal (RFP) in June, 2018, but did not accept either of the two bids.
The most recent RFP went out in the fall, closing on Nov. 30, with bids ranging from $547,945 from Dependable (for a stock truck already on the assembly line) to $697,831 from Metz Fire and Rescue.
The Hillsburgh station already has a pumper-rescue truck.
Once one is in place at the Erin station, Fire Chief Jim Sawkins hopes to adjust the fleet.
The plan is to phase out existing rescue trucks and replace them with pick-up trucks that would be fully equipped to handle medical calls when large trucks are not needed.
The purchase of the pumper-rescue is separate from the purchase of a new water tanker truck, estimated to cost $450,000 in the 2020 budget forecast.
That will replace a 1990 tanker that is too old for certification by firms that provide home insurance, resulting in higher premiums for some rural homeowners.
