Warren DDA Board approves purchase of new fire engine

2022-05-14 22:27:20 By : Ms. Shinny Xie

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By: Brian Wells | Warren Weekly | Published May 11, 2022

WARREN — Members of the Warren Downtown Development Authority Board approved a motion to purchase a new fire engine May 4.

At the authority’s meeting, Warren Fire Commissioner Skip McAdams asked the board to make a motion to approve the purchase of a new Rosenbauer firetruck.

Due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction of a new truck — which McAdams said usually takes 11 to 13 months — has been slowed to a process that takes 24 to 26 months. However, McAdams said this particular truck was in the process of being constructed for another municipality that fell on hard times, which would speed up the process.

“Building of a new firetruck is about 24 months due to COVID,” McAdams said. “With this community falling on hard times, they had to back out of the deal, and for us to come in midstream is very lucky on our part.”

Part of the deal will allow the department to customize the truck to their specifications. It will be identical to every other truck in the department’s fleet with the exception that the cab is 5 inches longer.

“Front and rear passengers will have 2 1/2 inches more legroom, but I don’t think they’re going to complain about that,” McAdams said.

Otherwise, the truck will mirror the rest of the department’s fleet, including its engine, drivetrain, foam tank, and the size of the water tank.

The city’s 2022 budget has given the Fire Department the ability to purchase three new fire engines. To date, the city has only purchased one, which it recently took delivery of.

If approved, the new firetruck would replace an engine that was purchased in 2014 and has more than 100,000 road miles on it. But because the department is trying to purchase additional rigs, it will remain in service until another truck can be purchased.

McAdams said he is working with Warren Mayor Jim Fouts to combine the purchases into a single purchase.

The motion passed with a 5-0 vote. Board members Gregory Jackson, Nicholas Lavdas and Michael Wiegand were absent from the meeting.

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