WATERTOWN — With the department’s two ladder trucks off the road and in need of repairs, the fire chief recommends purchasing a used one from the city of Geneva.
The City Council will be asked on Monday to vote to appropriate $40,000 to buy the 2000 Pierce ladder truck.
The department’s Number One truck, a 2004 Pierce, is having a hydraulic issue and personnel have been told not to climb on it. It failed an aerial inspection on Nov. 10, according to a memo from City Manager Kenneth A. Mix to council members.
While that was having its issues, Truck Number 2, a 36-year-old E-One ladder, is having issues with its rear suspension and axles.
When it was getting serviced, however, another $20,000 in repairs were discovered and must be completed to get that apparatus back on the road, so the department will have “a usable ladder truck,” Mr. Mix wrote.
“This is our best bet and it’s important for us to be fiscally responsible,” Chief Matthew R. Timerman said Friday.
The Number One truck will be refurbished as soon as possible, while the department will have to wait a year or so for a new ladder truck, Chief Timerman said.
He and Deputy Chief Michael D. Kellogg searched and found the Geneva truck. They drove and checked out the apparatus on Friday.
“The Geneva department is giving us a good price,” Chief Timerman said.
The Watertown department has been planning for months to buy a new ladder truck — made by KME with a mid-mounted ladder — for $1.39 million to replace the 36-year-old E-One aerial truck.
But national supply chain and labor shortage issues have delayed that purchase.
When the new one is delivered in 2024, plans call for selling the 1986 E-One truck and the used aerial from Geneva.
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