- November 18, 2024
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The Flagler Beach fire department wants a new truck — and not just any truck. This one, an aerial truck called a “quint” because it performs five functions, costs about $600,000.
Flagler Beach Fire Captain Bobby Pace requested the truck last month in a strategy session, listing the truck as “fire safety equipment” in the agenda. What that “fire safety equipment” actually was blindsided commissioners.
“When I did get the agenda, I saw the purchase of ‘fire safety equipment,’” Commission Chairwoman Kim Carney said. “ That did not in my opinion reflect a fire truck.”
Carney predicted a year ago that the fire department would want a new truck. Its sole aerial truck is about 30 years old, and its pumper truck is about 20 years old, she said.
But a new truck hasn’t been budgeted for, Carney said. The fire department has abut $200,000 in a fund that can be used to pay for equipment, but the rest of the money for the truck, according to Pace’s proposal, would have to come from other sources. He proposed taking it from Flagler Beach’s infrastructure tax fund.
Carney said it’s not clear the city needs an aerial truck at all, let along the quint.
“My first question was: Do we technically need a ladder truck? And the answer is no,” she said. “The truck we have right now, I believe, has been used at one fire since we’ve had it.”
The one time the city did need it, she said, here was no one available to drive it, and by the time there was, the Flagler County Fire Department had already responded with its aerial truck.
Most of the city’s calls — about 98%, Carney said — are medical calls, not fire calls.
The benefits of the quint — a Viper model manufactured by Rosenbauer Firefighting Technology — are lower fuel consumption, a better rating from the Insurance Service Office and lower maintenance costs, according to Pace's presentation. The city’s aging aerial and pumper, which would both be replaced by the quint, are expected to need repairs.
“I initially hoped for and discussed the possibility of performing aerial operations from this truck for several more years during last year’s budget discussions,” Pace wrote in the presentation. “I now believe this is unrealistic.”
The department has already spent $5,050 on repairs, according to the presentation, and it needs more, including repairs for weak hydraulic lines and the addition of an alarm to warn firefighters of improper setup that could result in ladder failure, an addition expected to cost $1,500-$2,000.
The quint, according to the presentation, would be under warranty for all components for five years. The frame would have a lifetime warranty, and the ladder would have a 25-year warranty.
It would also have automatic ladder controls that are more precise than the current ladder truck’s “stiff” controls, according to the presentation, and the single-axle quint could maneuver though streets the current double-axle truck can’t take.
Carney said she’s open to considering an alternative to the current ladder truck. She's not sure the quint is the right one.
“It’s just like buying any other vehicle,” she said. “When do you say it’s not worth putting any more money in? I’m just not convinced this is the one for us.”
The fire truck will be on the agenda for the city’s budget hearings, which begin July 1. A schedule and agendas will be posted at cityofflagerbeach.com.
