Silver Lake Fire Department seeks to pursue a new engine

The Silver Lake Fire Department was granted permission by the Silver Lake Village Board to spec out and seek quotes on a new fire engine and a pick-up truck, but the board stopped short of committing to a purchase.

“I see no harm in getting quotes” said Trustee Sotiria Wilbur.

The case for the new equipment was made by fire department representatives Lt. Jake McFarlane and  firefighter Aaron Lassig at Wednesday’s Village Board meeting. The department faces the unique situation of most of its equipment being about the same age since it was purchased in the wake of a 1997 fire that destroyed the fire station and all but one truck. All of the current trucks are 1998 models. Last year, one of the engines alone needed $9,000 in repairs and one of the engines is currently out of service due to a need for repairs.

The department would like to purchase one new engine and a pick-up truck and sell two of the current trucks. The new engine would also serve some of the equipment carrying and other functions of the current squad truck. Due to this combining of functions with the new truck, two trucks would not need to respond for incidents such as traffic accidents. The pick-up would become a tow vehicle for boats and the department’s off road six wheeler, which the squad truck is used for now.

When ordering a fire truck, departments let the truck company know what equipment and features they want included, a process called a “spec out.” A true cost will not be known until that process is completed, but McFarlane estimated the cost at about $700,000 at most for both vehicles.

Village President Jeff Albrecht questioned the timing of the replacement request given that an ad hoc fire committee is engaged in formulating 5-, 10- and 15-year plans for the fire department.

McFarlane responded that making the request now fit the department’s timeline for replacement and mounting repair bills also seemed to suggest that it was time to consider replacement sooner rather than later.

Trustee David Snow, also a fire department member, pointed out the trucks’ trade-in or resell value also continues to decrease.

“The longer we wait now the less we are going to be able to get,” Snow said.

If the purchase is to move forward, how to fund it likely will be the chief topic of discussion.

“Everyone knows we have no money,” Wilbur said.

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2 Comments

  1. Matt says:

    Didn’t Silver Lake just pay off debts and talk about savings? I understand the need, but there are other priorities at this moment.

  2. The Silver Lake Fire Department was granted permission by the Silver Lake Village Board to spec out and seek quotes on a new fire engine and a pick-up truck, but the board stopped short of committing to a purchase.

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