The Guelph-Eramosa fire department is getting a new pumper truck.
At the Nov. 2 meeting Guelph-Eramosa council approved the purchase of a 2015 pumper truck and associated equipment for $335,808 from Asphodel Fire Trucks in Norwood.
The 2015 budget for the truck was $350,000 and it will replace the 2001 rescue truck.
“It’s a 15-year-old truck,” deputy fire chief Richard Renaud said at the meeting. “It’s a rescue truck, so rescue trucks do not have water. Basically it’s a large toolbox on wheels and this is giving us pumping capabilities which will allow us to get back to superior tanker shuttle accreditation (and) there’s potential for insurance rebates for the citizens.”
He said the new pumper truck will increase fire fighting capabilities and services the department can provide. “It’s important to have pumping capabilities so that the first truck that gets to the scene has water to start fire fighting,” he said. “The rescue truck served a need when it was purchased, now we’re looking at a truck that does multiple tasks as opposed to a single … task.”
Renaud also said that by purchasing the demo truck the department is receiving more features than they were originally looking for.
“It’s a full-size pumper, instead of having a traditional 2,000 litres it has 4,500 litres, instead of having a 1,050 or 1,250 pump it has a 1,500 pump. It has a water system as well as a dual foam system,” he explained. “Because it’s a demo unit it’s that Cadillac, if you wish, of fire trucks.”
When put to tender, the township received bids that were all higher than the assigned budget so Renaud said he started looking for other options that would be within the budget.
The other bids include:
– Dependable Truck and Tank Ltd. offered a discount if the department purchased a stock pumper and tanker at the same time. The pumper would cost $350,000 plus HST and the second truck would cost $375,000 plus HST for a total of $737,760.
– Asphodel offered a non-demo full-size stock pumper for $371,424.
– Darch Rescue offered a full size stock pumper for $395,323.
– Asphodel offered a medium duty fire truck for $371,129.
– KME offered a full-size stock pumper for $404,496.
Councillor Corey Woods voiced concern that municipalities in and around Norwood, where Asphodel is located, turned down bids from the company but didn’t have any specific details.
“I guess if there’s some concerns around the company, and I can’t tell what these concerns are, but I guess for me, I don’t want a fire truck if there’s going to be something wrong with it,” he said.
Mayor Chris White said the concern surrounds the type of warrantees offered.
Renaud said the body warrantee is 15 years because the model was a demo, whereas the standard warrantee is no more than 10 years.
Woods also asked whether it would make more sense to buy the two trucks from Dependable this year because the department is asking for $450,000 to $500,000 for a new tanker in next year’s budget and the deal would be more affordable. “We put a standard amount of what we thought we would need ($450,000) for a tanker for next year. Now saying that, Dependable had a standard stock pump and standard stock tanker available and they were trying to do this dual deal and again the incentive is an additional $15,000 (off). Asphodel have also indicated that that’s what they build, tankers, and they indicated that they can build that same tanker for $275,000.”
White said it’s difficult because the pumper was approved in the 2015 budget but the tanker has not yet been approved for purchase.
Council unanimously approved the purchase of the Asphodel demo-pumper truck.
