Greensburg Hose recognizes members for service

As the town continues to deliberate on the 2013-14 budget one of the largest requests on the table is a new fire engine for Beacon Hose Company No. 1.Fire Chief Michael Pratt said the current fire engine may soon have to be retired.The engine will come up on its 25th year in service in 2014, Pratt said. According to regulations, a vehicle that has been in service for that long can no longer be considered a front line piece of equipment.This means the engine is not be allowed to be the first vehicle that responds to a fire, but can be a back-up vehicle.The current engine also has an open cab, which means the two seats facing the back are open. This type of cab is no longer allowed under current safety standards, Pratt said.

In addition to those considerations, the engine has also begun to show its age."The plumbing inside the vehicle is deteriorating rapidly," Pratt said.Another problem the fire department has run into is that Boardman, the company who makes the truck, has been out of business for about 10 years."Getting parts is a lot harder than for other vehicles," Pratt said.Pratt added the engine has begun to have electrical issues and will also need new tires in the near future. He is worried that the truck will soon cost the town more to repair than it is worth.Due to all of those concerns, Pratt felt that something needed to be done so the department could continue to serve the town.

"That's why we proposed to the town to replace that engine," Pratt said.The department originally proposed completely refurbishing the Boardman engine for a cost of $585,000.The problem with this is that the department still wouldn't have a ladder truck, which it has been asking the town to purchase for approximately 10 years, Pratt said.During the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance's joint meeting in March, Pratt proposed buying a quintuple combination pumper, or quint, rather than refurbishing the engine.The quint is a 500-gallon pumper and has a 75-foot ladder built in. Currently the department carries a 24-foot ladder on the Boardman.

Pratt said the 24-foot ladder is not always high enough to reach some third floors on houses."You get the best of both worlds," said Pratt about the quint. "You get the ladder truck and end up with an engine."Pratt feels the quint, which comes with an approximate $700,000 price tag, would be a wise investment for the town."We try to run our budget as lean as possible and be fiscally responsible," Pratt said. "This is definitely something that's worth it. There's no price you can put on someone's life."