Council questions need for new rescue vehicle

By Sherry conohan
Staff Writer

EATONTOWN — The price tag for a new rescue truck the volunteer fire department would like the borough to buy has given the council pause.

Councilman Theodore F. Lewis Jr. led the questioning of the $440,000 cost put before the council and said he didn’t think the borough could afford it.

"Over 38 years I’ve supported everything for the fire department, but I don’t think we can do $400,000 to half a million dollars," he said.

Three former fire chiefs on a committee to assess fire department apparatus needs reported to the Borough Council at its caucus meeting July 10 that the biggest problem is the rescue truck, which is undersized.

Sgt. Joe Miller said the rescue truck doesn’t have enough room for all the equipment that should be kept aboard and some must be stored in a closet.

He said that since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 a lot of biohazard and decontamination equipment has been added to the gear already carried.

Miller said the rescue truck also is underpowered — the motor isn’t big enough — for the weight when the truck is fully loaded with equipment.

Miller said the new truck the fire department has been looking at has a box in back that is 6 feet longer than the present rescue truck and has a six-man cab.

He also said that unlike the present truck, which is a commercial chassis onto which a box was nailed, the trucks they’re looking at were built to be rescue trucks.

"When we purchased the [firetruck] there was no anticipation we would be doing what we’re doing now," he said.

Miller said the fire department has been talking to various vendors and had gotten two prices from two vendors with $440,000 being the "high end."

West Long Branch is very interested in buying the new truck, he added.

In response to a question from Councilman John J. Collins, Miller said West Long Branch was willing to pay $100,000 for the rescue truck.

Mayor Gerald J. Tarantolo said that wouldn’t cover the outstanding debt on the present truck. He pointed out it was purchased with a 10-year bond that still had four years to be paid at $28,000 a year.

Councilman Lewis said it seemed the fire department was striving to match what is just one mile away at Fort Monmouth. He said the Fort Monmouth fire department is a paid force that works full time and can respond quickly and has time to train.

Lewis said Red Bank bought the same rescue truck Eatontown has six months before Eatontown bought its truck, and Red Bank has no intention of replacing it at this time. He said he spoke to Red Bank Borough Administrator and Fire Marshal Stanley Sickels and Sickels told him Red Bank isn’t real happy with its truck, but with Middletown to the north and Fort Monmouth to the south, it can’t justify replacing it with a larger one.

If the committee wants to replace the present truck, Lewis said, he would go along with something more modest but not costing nearly $500,000.

"I don’t think a community of 5 square miles and 14,000 people … can afford to do everything," he said.

Councilman William M. Kinney suggested the borough might want to have two rescue trucks of the same size instead of "one big gorilla."

Councilman Charles E. DaVis threw out the idea of having a trailer that could be pulled behind the rescue truck in which the extra equipment could be kept.

The firemen rejected those ideas and said it would be better for the borough to have its own, larger truck available at all times rather than rely on Fort Monmouth for an emergency when its fire department may be out.

Tarantolo said that, based on what he had heard, the rescue truck should be replaced.

Councilwoman Joyce Englehart said, "I can’t justify spending half a million dollars."

Miller suggested that all rescue operations be turned over to the fire department and the borough get rid of the first aid vehicle.

In any case, he said, the fire department needs its own Jaws of Life for its building collapse team. He said the firemen were trained in building collapse but the first aid squad members were not.

Miller later explained that the fire department has electric Jaws of Life that can be taken off the truck, but the new truck the fire department was looking at has gas-powered Jaws of Life built right into the truck. The fire department isn’t looking to take over the first aid squad’s extraction work, he added.

Lewis said that when he proposed there be one vehicle for the fire department and first aid squad at a first aid squad meeting about eight years ago, the first question was what color would it be. The first aid squad’s colors are green and white while the fire department’s color is red.

Kinney said he would like for the fire committee to come up with a couple of alternatives and to hear from Philip Payne, the borough fire official.

Borough Business Administrator Michael L. Trotta asked when, in the regular schedule of replacements, is the next vehicle supposed to be purchased and what will be the apparatus replaced. Miller said the scheduled date for the next replacement is 2009 and he assumed the vehicle would be a 1984 Pierce fire engine which now has 20,310 miles on it.

Tarantolo asked the fire department committee to meet with a committee of the council and come up with something both groups could agree on and bring it back to the Borough Council for consideration.