Rosenbauer South Dakota LLC/A 78-foot ladder/pumper truck similar to this one has been put on order for the Ventnor City Fire Department.
VENTNOR – A new fire apparatus is being put on order following the Board of Commissioners’ passage of a resolution Aug. 22, and the city will receive a loaner truck while a ladder truck damaged in an accident is repaired.
The city will purchase a 78-foot aerial ladder truck, complete with commander chassis, at a cost of $753,975. The purchase will be funded through a bond ordinance approved in November 2017.
The purchase will be made through the Houston-Galveston Area Council Cooperative Program, which eliminates the expenses normally incurred during the public bidding process. Rosenbauer South Dakota, LLC will build the truck to city specifications.
Fire Chief Michael Cahill said he will travel to South Dakota to place the order for a combination ladder and pumper truck. The new vehicle will replace a nearly 40-year-old apparatus that is housed at Firehouse No. 2. It will take about a year to build and be placed in service by September 2020, about the same time the new firehouse on Wellington Avenue is completed.
“Having multiple ladder trucks will help our ISO rating,” he said.
Having a better ISO rating can benefit homeowners by reducing the cost of fire insurance premiums.
He said the city has had several recent fire events that required more than one ladder truck and the department had to request ladder trucks from other department as required by mutual aid agreements.
Cahill reported that the city will also receive a loaner truck to replace the ladder truck housed at Firehouse No. 1 that was damaged during an EMS call on July 20.
According to Cahill, firefighters boarded the ladder truck to respond to an emergency medical services call after the city’s two ambulances were already responding to other calls.
“We only have so many vehicles available to respond to calls,” he said.
As the ladder truck attempted to make a turn onto a side street, it hit an illegally parked Comcast van that had parked too close to the corner.
“That vehicle got towed and the driver ticketed,” Cahill said.
The truck had about $40,000 worth of damage.
The city’s Joint Insurance Fund will cover the cost of repairs, less deductibles, Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Kriebel said.
The company fixing the damage will provide the department with a loaner truck. It could take several months to repair, Cahill said.
Cahill also said the city would be obtaining government surplus high-water vehicles that are “new and free.”
Cahill said the department does not want to use the city’s expensive vehicles during high-water events.
“For us to go out and do something in high flood waters, we are putting vehicles that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars at risk that we don’t need to. We will not be doing that until we get these new trucks,” he said.
“The ones we have now are in deplorable condition,” he said. “We will get all new vehicles at no cost to the city.”
The surplus military vehicles, which are being provided by the NJ Forest Fire Service through the U.S. Dept. of Interior, can be modified for the department’s needs, he said.
“There are no limits to how we can modify the vehicles,” Cahill said.
After four years, the vehicles will be inspected and the titles turned over to the city, he said.
