City councillors have authorized spending for a new rescue pumper truck for Powell River Fire Rescue.
At a March 3 meeting, council voted unanimously that the contract for the 2022 rescue pumper be awarded to Commercial Emergency Equipment Co. for $789,000 plus taxes.
Councillor Maggie Hathaway, portfolio holder for protective services, asked chief Terry Peters to clarify some matters.
“I’ve seen on Facebook about it being an American company and the cost being skewed,” said Hathaway.
Peters said the fire truck will be made in Saint-Georges, Quebec. He said it is part of the Pierce Manufacturing company out of Appleton, Wisconsin, which is the largest fire truck manufacturer in the world.
“This is a Canadian-built truck, by Canadian labour, with Canadian parts, in Canadian dollars,” said Peters. “It is actually 100 per cent Canadian, with the exception of the chassis that comes out of Florida.
“It’s the same company that built our last truck. I know there’s been comments out there about change orders. The great thing about this truck is that it is already being pre-built and they will be mirroring our specs into that truck. That’s what this dollar figure is about. I don’t expect an awful lot more coming out of this truck.
Peters said it has a larger tank on it, which is a good thing for our department.
“There is a bit of a different ladder configuration and we’ve had discussions with our crews about that,” he added. “This is going to be a nice addition to the department and is going to give us quality apparatus to protect the community and let our firefighters do the jobs they were trained to do.”
Hathaway said the money for the new truck is not new money, it’s in an equipment reserve.
“It’s already there so we won’t need to find additional funding,” added Hathaway.
Mayor Dave Formosa said loans and borrowing will not be needed.
During question period at the conclusion of the meeting, attendee Sherry Burton asked with regard to emergency apparatus, is there a GST rebate for such purchases? Chief financial officer Adam Langenmaier said the city gets GST back on these types of purchases.
Burton said the last fire truck purchased required approximately $40,000 worth of equipment to outfit the vehicle. She asked if the cost of the pumper at $789,000 plus taxes includes new equipment to outfit the truck.
Peters said what council approved was the fire truck. He said equipment would be put onto the truck if it is needed and that would follow under the city purchasing policy.
Formosa said the fire department would also be transferring equipment from the old truck where possible.
Burton said with the last new truck, the fire department purchased nozzles and hoses and radios and computers, so she assumed it would be similar for the new truck.
“I just wanted to clarify that there will also be some equipment added to the $789,000 for the apparatus,” said Burton.
Peters said, if required, yes.
According to a report to council from Peters, the existing 1998 Spartan Darley Rescue Pumper truck is nearing its 25-year maximum lifespan.
“Overall, the stock unit will meet the needs of the community,” stated Peters, “and comes with an added benefit of an earlier delivery time as it is already scheduled to manufacture.
