By DAVE SCHULTZ
Bluffton Fire Chief Don Craig got permission to put $18,000 into repairs of the city’s aerial truck. What he really wants to do, however, is to replace it.
Craig said all of the tires on the truck need to be replaced, and the cost for that will be approximately $11,000. In addition, the hydraulic cylinders on the vehicle need to be repaired, a cost estimated at $7,000.
However, the aerial truck — known as Tower 1 — is 28 years old and needs to be replaced. The repairs to the hydraulic cylinders and the replacement of the tires are stopgap measures.
“We need to replace this truck,” Craig said, immediately adding: “We need to keep it in service, too.”
The cost of replacing the aerial truck will be into seven digits. Craig said that when he looked at replacing it in 2019, the cost was approximately $1.2 million at that time. It’s not expected to be any cheaper at this time.
Emergency Vehicle Response, known as EVR, has been advising the Bluffton Fire Department and city officials on firefighting equipment, and that company will work with the city as it looks at options for replacing equipment — including the aerial truck.
So EVR will have representatives in Bluffton next Tuesday night for a discussion on moving forward with the replacement of firefighting equipment. The meeting will be at 6 p.m. next Tuesday, which is not a night when the council would be scheduled to meet.
Among other things, EVR will “spec” the aerial truck and advise the city on what it needs to replace it.
daves@news-banner.com
