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Comment by Robert C. Baker on March 10, 2009 at 2:08am

I too have seen this practice of buying just to show up the Jones's and win trophys at parades and conventions, but I must agree that when a faithful truck or engine has served the people well, a new unit should be spec'd out and purchased with available funding. Not going to the bank and getting a loan, yep we make our money the old fashioned way Hard Work, now we don't have a lot of flashy chrome, bells and whistles but I must say we buy reputable fire apparatus from reputable mfg's. and when it's all said and done our new fire truck does the same as the Jones's but at a fraction of the cost cause all the bling bling don't put out the fire. And we have new NFPA recommended fire apparatus in our barn. Oh and it's paid for before it leaves the mfg's facility. Well off to make some more ging,ging for a new rescue squad
( not and ambulance) but a new tool box on wheels. And Im hopeing for a New " Horton built" squad tk.
but we still have plenty of time to decide on who will get that job. Old Fire Engines Are Still GREAT !!!

Comment by Mark Klaene on March 9, 2009 at 10:35pm

Janelle, congrats on getting new equipment ordered. Sounds like you guys were in real trouble. Good thinking (outside the box) looking at lease purchase it is a good way to update the fleet when money is tight. That size order hopefully you got a good price break. Sounds like a hard fight which it should not have been. But at least the politicians finely came around

Comment by Don Vuletic on March 8, 2009 at 11:02pm

The only thing that matters in old vs new is that the old is maintained and ready for service. Everyone would like to purchase new units every 10 to 15 years but the money is not there. Compitition on buying a new and bigger truck is a waste of taxpayers dollars. A truck should only be replaced when it becomes unsafe or the cost of maintaining it is more than it is worth. I have seen some older trucks that are just as good as the new ones.

Comment by sully on March 8, 2009 at 6:03pm

It';s not that old trucks are bad. It's the simple fact as rual areas sstart to grow the fire protection is going to grow along with the city or county. newer truck if kept up on the maintance they are good trucks .

Comment by Janelle Musick on March 8, 2009 at 1:08pm

Well im in a rural area as well and our engines... well they r great ur pager goes off all the adrenaline goin u get the the engine fire it up and take of......... well kinda. if u can call about 30 mph taking off then once again...we take off! Our engines nickname is white lightning we have the fasted engine in the county averaging about 35 mph on flat land. But oh lord if we try to go up a little hill..well we get there in time to save the foundation. All joking aside though we just signed a lease purchase agreement with pierce to get 12 new engines and 4 new tenders. In our case it isnt about keeping up with the Jones its about being safe. At the meeting to get the board of supervisors to approve of the lease purchase agreement ( and man did it take forever... they find that tourist attractions and the arts are more important) countless fire fighters stood up to tell their stories about using our engines. About how more than once they were at the door getting ready to make entry or already inside and their hose going limp. Not the best feeling. Or about goin on strike teams and having ur engines come back on tow trucks. Our old engines are great for parades people like to see them its like a historic event. But maybe with the new engines we can actually do some good and save more than just foundations.

Comment by Scott on March 8, 2009 at 12:44pm

Make sure to inspect under the chrome wheel covers on a regular basis. There have been a number of cases where there were structural issues with the wheels and hubs that were not seen due to the covers. I have yet to hear of a dept that removes these for the daily/weekly/monthly inspections, which ever you do. In a lot of cases if you wait until the tires need to be replaced it may be too late. This can be a very real safety issue.
I agree with the premise that if you are specifying apparatus just to keep up with the neighbors or because you lack enough chrome and toys you are in the wrong place, join a car club.
Buy new because it's safer for not only you but the community we serve. Thats what it's, or should be all about. I think some forget that from time to time.

Comment by turk182 on March 8, 2009 at 12:09pm

We have two Mack CF engines one is a 1977 and the other is a 1984 and I would not trade either of them for the world. The maintenance is kept up and the trucks pump their buts off.

Macks have never let us down yet, but some stations around us have bought newer trucks and have had nothing but problems with them.

Comment by Trainer on March 8, 2009 at 10:15am

Poor economics time or not, we are set up on a 10year rotation, that means the truck we are replacing is 40years old. NO we don’t keep up with the Jones, we order what we need and set the standard. As for the chrome, a lot comes with the truck, now we did spec stainless steel fuel tanks, this may appear to be chrome and normally we put SS wheel simulators on but while pricing it’s not much more to get aluminum wheels as the MFG gives credit for the trade. Good looking trucks don’t put out more fire but carries a certain pride among our members and community.

Comment by Mark Klaene on March 7, 2009 at 11:05pm

I don't specify much chrome on my units but I do specify chrome wheel simulators. To me it is like requiring reflective striping. Chrome wheel units stand out substantially better than painted. Just like a clean, polished truck stands out a whole lot better than a dirty one. And rather responding code, returning, parked blocking right of way or just on the side with my folks around it , I like my units to stand out . Lots of flashing lights on a scene have proven to be more harm on certain scenes so passive devices like chevron striping and yes even some chrome can be good.

Comment by anne potter on March 7, 2009 at 8:51pm

this is a diseal old airforce truck used on the infield.. she is a beast........ I get it newer truckes safer.. But sooooo mush chrome.. How about just a fire truck

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