Council OK’s purchase of state-of-the-art fire truck
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After two years of shuffling papers and filing forms, the Beeville Volunteer Fire Department has been given permission to order a new fire truck.
City Manager Ford Patton said during a City Council meeting Tuesday evening that efforts to obtain grant funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture actually began on April 1, 2006. It was not until Wednesday, Nov. 5, that the “closing” on the $100,000 grant and a sale of $210,000 in certificates of obligation were completed, giving the department the ability to go ahead with the order.
In addition, a $50,000 grant from the Bee County Central Fire District made the purchase of the $339,343 fire truck possible.
The bonds, which will be paid by Beeville taxpayers, were bought by the USDA at an interest rate of 4.25 percent.
Patton said the final payment will be made on Feb. 15, 2018, 10 years from now. The average annual debt service on the certificates will be about $26,000.
The truck, a 2008 Pierce on a custom-built frame, will be a state-of-the art pumper vehicle with a 1,000-gallon water tank and compressed air foam capability. The new equipment will make it possible for the department to put out fires much quicker, using less water and keep them from flaring up again.
Fire Chief Donald C. Morris said this week that the truck will have a six-man cab with room enough for firefighters to suit up and don their Scott air packs while still riding in the air-conditioned interior.
That means firemen will be able to hit the ground, fully ready to run hoses and engage any type of structural fire without having to connect the pumper to an outside water source immediately.
The pumping equipment will allow firemen to put as much as 1,500 gallons of water on a fire in a minute. But Morris said it is unlikely the pumps will be used to full capacity because none of the city’s fire hydrants are capable of putting out that much water.
The vehicle will be powered by a Cummins diesel engine with an automatic transmission, a generator, lights and spaces for quick access to rescue tools, ladders and other equipment.
The truck will be equipped with a new Hurst Rescue Tool (Jaws of Life) and special hydraulic jacks that will assist firemen in stabilizing vehicles and removing victims from wreckage.
Representatives of Siddons Fire Apparatus, Inc. of Houston were in Beeville Tuesday with a truck similar to the one the BVFD has ordered. Morris said the vehicle will be built from the chassis up at the company’s plant in Appleton, Wis. It will take the company eight months to complete the project.
The truck is not meant to operate off road and is intended to be used in structural fires, such as homes and buildings. Because of the compressed air foam capability and the storage space on board for rescue tools, it will also be ideal for responding to traffic accidents.
Currently the BVFD has two trucks that respond to structural fires, Engines 1 and 2. Neither truck is equipped with a compressed air foam system.
The combination of funds gives the department $360,100 with which to work. After paying for the truck and a $5,250 fee for bond issuance professional fees, Morris said firemen will have $15,507 to use for the purchase of equipment for the truck.
The chief said he has assured the Central Fire District board that the money will be used to equip the vehicle.
Patton told the council that the $50,000 contribution from the Central district was vital to the purchase. Without that money the deal would not have been completed.
“We’re looking into the future for the next 25 years,” Assistant Fire Chief Lanny Holland told the council.
Assistant Fire Chief Bill Burris, who also was at Tuesday’s meeting, thanked Patton for his work in finding the funds for the purchase.
The new truck will be the second vehicle to join the BVFD’s fleet that offers the compressed air foam system. The department purchased a smaller CAF system several years ago with money donated by the Bee Development Authority. The system was to be used in fighting aviation-related fires at the Chase Field Industrial Airport Complex. The system was installed in the bed of a large pickup truck and it has been used to fight numerous fires in the county since.
More recently, firemen renovated their four-vehicle fleet of brush trucks, adding new water storage tanks to them and equipping two of the trucks with foam systems.
City Manager Ford Patton said during a City Council meeting Tuesday evening that efforts to obtain grant funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture actually began on April 1, 2006. It was not until Wednesday, Nov. 5, that the “closing” on the $100,000 grant and a sale of $210,000 in certificates of obligation were completed, giving the department the ability to go ahead with the order.
In addition, a $50,000 grant from the Bee County Central Fire District made the purchase of the $339,343 fire truck possible.
The bonds, which will be paid by Beeville taxpayers, were bought by the USDA at an interest rate of 4.25 percent.
Patton said the final payment will be made on Feb. 15, 2018, 10 years from now. The average annual debt service on the certificates will be about $26,000.
The truck, a 2008 Pierce on a custom-built frame, will be a state-of-the art pumper vehicle with a 1,000-gallon water tank and compressed air foam capability. The new equipment will make it possible for the department to put out fires much quicker, using less water and keep them from flaring up again.
Fire Chief Donald C. Morris said this week that the truck will have a six-man cab with room enough for firefighters to suit up and don their Scott air packs while still riding in the air-conditioned interior.
That means firemen will be able to hit the ground, fully ready to run hoses and engage any type of structural fire without having to connect the pumper to an outside water source immediately.
The pumping equipment will allow firemen to put as much as 1,500 gallons of water on a fire in a minute. But Morris said it is unlikely the pumps will be used to full capacity because none of the city’s fire hydrants are capable of putting out that much water.
The vehicle will be powered by a Cummins diesel engine with an automatic transmission, a generator, lights and spaces for quick access to rescue tools, ladders and other equipment.
The truck will be equipped with a new Hurst Rescue Tool (Jaws of Life) and special hydraulic jacks that will assist firemen in stabilizing vehicles and removing victims from wreckage.
Representatives of Siddons Fire Apparatus, Inc. of Houston were in Beeville Tuesday with a truck similar to the one the BVFD has ordered. Morris said the vehicle will be built from the chassis up at the company’s plant in Appleton, Wis. It will take the company eight months to complete the project.
The truck is not meant to operate off road and is intended to be used in structural fires, such as homes and buildings. Because of the compressed air foam capability and the storage space on board for rescue tools, it will also be ideal for responding to traffic accidents.
Currently the BVFD has two trucks that respond to structural fires, Engines 1 and 2. Neither truck is equipped with a compressed air foam system.
The combination of funds gives the department $360,100 with which to work. After paying for the truck and a $5,250 fee for bond issuance professional fees, Morris said firemen will have $15,507 to use for the purchase of equipment for the truck.
The chief said he has assured the Central Fire District board that the money will be used to equip the vehicle.
Patton told the council that the $50,000 contribution from the Central district was vital to the purchase. Without that money the deal would not have been completed.
“We’re looking into the future for the next 25 years,” Assistant Fire Chief Lanny Holland told the council.
Assistant Fire Chief Bill Burris, who also was at Tuesday’s meeting, thanked Patton for his work in finding the funds for the purchase.
The new truck will be the second vehicle to join the BVFD’s fleet that offers the compressed air foam system. The department purchased a smaller CAF system several years ago with money donated by the Bee Development Authority. The system was to be used in fighting aviation-related fires at the Chase Field Industrial Airport Complex. The system was installed in the bed of a large pickup truck and it has been used to fight numerous fires in the county since.
More recently, firemen renovated their four-vehicle fleet of brush trucks, adding new water storage tanks to them and equipping two of the trucks with foam systems.
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