PERU, Mass. — The Peru Volunteer Fire Department and the city are looking for a workable solution for the department’s deteriorating vehicles.
Peru Fire Chief Jesse Pelkey said the department’s fire engine and rescue vehicle are old and damaged, making it more difficult to provide services to the city.
The Select Board was informed that the engine would not pass inspection in mid-February when it was subsequently taken out of service.
With the fire truck permanently parked, Pelkey said the department can’t respond to an emergency with just one vehicle that has all the necessary equipment. Instead, they must respond with multiple vehicles to ensure the right equipment is on hand.
“If you have, say, a motor vehicle accident and God forbid someone is trapped and on fire. I need the tanker and I need the rescue truck because the rescue truck has jaws,” he said. Pelkey said. .
This is difficult in a rural community that has fewer volunteers to drive multiple vehicles.
“Instead of running the engine that has jaws and water, we should make this decision. Do I put out the fire or do I put out this person?”
While the department still has a ten-minute response time, there are still occasions when they have to rely on outside departments like Dalton and Hinsdale.
The department currently has a fire truck, a tanker, a chief’s command vehicle, a retired ambulance used for medical and rescue calls, and a tanker for bushland calls.
The department’s current rescue vehicle has its own problems, and Pelkey said there is antifreeze in the oil. The city has commissioned Pelkey to study estimates of how much it would cost to repair it.
As of press time, the city has not received those estimates because Pelkey said he is having trouble finding a mechanic to give him one.
Based on the conversations he’s had and his previous experience as a diesel mechanic, Pelkey estimates it would cost approximately $25,000 to repair the salvage vehicle. A new rescue would cost approximately $100,000 to $125,000.
Pelkey said the engine’s emergency brakes did not hold. Other issues include leaking engine oil, leaking power steering, corroded pressure lines, leaking coolant, among other concerns.
Pelkey said the engine tires would need to be replaced, which alone would cost more than $2,000.
He said they can “get by” until a resolution is found using the tanker as an engine, but it doesn’t have the capabilities of an engine.
“We’ve actually strapped a few ladders to our tanker to use as a prime mover if we need to,” Pelkey said.
Pelkey said one of the challenges in repairing the city’s fire engine is that the vehicle manufacturer went out of business, making it difficult to obtain parts.
In August when the windshield of the vehicle cracked. It took four months to replace it and the department didn’t get the new windshield until December.
The city engine is a 2002 model that they bought two years ago for about $75,000.
Pelkey took the engine to vehicle manufacturer Freightliner to get an estimate of how much the emergency brake repairs would cost and was told it would cost just under $7,000. Pelkey was informed that the repairs are not guaranteed to work.
One of the selectmen worked as a mechanic for the Massachusetts Turnpike and said emergency brake repairs should cost $2,000 to $3,000, Select Board Chairman Verne Leach said.
At this time, the department does not yet know how much the other repairs would cost to bring the vehicle to the point where it can pass inspection.
Pelkey has looked into buying a used fire truck, but they aren’t much newer than the one they currently have and cost more than $250,000.
To comply with the National Fire Protection Association, fire engines should be replaced after 20 years, so buying a used model wouldn’t give the city much time.
A used model newer than 2015 would cost the city between $400,000 and $500,000.
Pelkey said the department had an engine manufacturer “step up” by offering a demo model that will roll off the line in May. He said it was “built for a 2-year-old price,” so it would cost the city $606,000.
He estimated that if the city invested $100,000 as a down payment, it would cost him roughly $65,000 a year for 10 years and the truck would last at least 20 years.
With the warranties, the truck would be much less expensive to repair.
Pelkey said the department takes good care of its vehicles, and with his background as a diesel mechanic, he is often able to extend the life of many of the department’s vehicles. For example, the 2004 city tanker has just over 10,000 miles.
“So this truck is still new. So we would know that this truck would last 20 years guaranteed in that department,” Pelkey said.
The value of the truck is approximately $25,000. So if the city continues to make repairs that aren’t guaranteed to work, the city could be wasting money.
Even with the repairs, Pelkey only expects the truck to last another 8 years at most.
“…We can’t stop putting money into it. You have to be able to pull the plug and you have to have a figure in your head to pull a plug. Something that is no longer manufactured and is sometimes very difficult. for get parts,” Pelkey said.
Leach said it’s important for the city to look at potential repair costs along with different purchase options. He said the township still needs to have all the numbers to determine which option is the most feasible.
“It’s our responsibility to try to spend the taxpayers’ money very carefully and just going out and buying all new vehicles is not very careful,” Leach said.
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