Fire Chief Describes Fire Truck Search

The Archbold Fire Department toured one fire truck factory, saw some trucks, and will look at more, as they shop for a replacement for the aging aerial ladder truck.

Andy Brodbeck, Archbold Fire Department chief, and Steve Pape, AFD member and chairman of the truck committee, told the German Township Trustees about the search for an aerial truck at the Monday night, Jan. 21 trustee meeting.

AFD officials toured the Sutphen Company facilities in Amlin and Springfield, and visited a fire department in central Ohio to look at a recent Sutphen truck. Sutphen has built several AFD fire trucks.

One option Sutphen offers is a refurbished, or remanufactured, ladder truck.

"I don't know what to call it," Brodbeck said.

He said Sutphen takes a used ladder assembly, sandblasts it, thoroughly inspects it, replaces bad parts, installs it on a new chassis, and gives it the same warranty and a new, builtfrom scratch ladder.

"It's a new ladder, built with used materials," he said.

The same treatment is given to the turntable, which allows the ladder to move left or right, the hydraulic cylinders, which raise the ladder, and the fire pump.

The rest of the truck- chassis, engine, cab, and body- are new.

The advantage is the department can save $150,000 to $175,000 over the cost of an allnew, made-from scratch ladder truck.

New ladder trucks can cost up to $1 million. A refurbished one, without options, will cost around $650,000, Brodbeck said.

Sutphen buys used ladder trucks and rebuilds them. Brodbeck said during 2008, the company plans to build four such trucks.

Customized

If AFD decides a rebuilt truck suits its needs, and if the department makes a decision soon, they can ask Sutphen to build one of the rebuilt trucks to Archbold specifications.

For example, Sutphen was planning to build one of the remanufactured trucks with a flat-roof cab. Archbold would like an extended cab, with a raised roof over the rear section similar to truck No. 104. That way, the truck can carry more firefighters, and they can put on their protective equipment in the cab on the way to a fire.

AFD also wants an onboard electrical generator with its own engine, and 110-volt wiring.

One thing Brodbeck said AFD does not want is a demonstrator truck. Those trucks, he said, have a lot of miles on their odometers before Archbold would get its hands on one.

Shopping

Brodbeck emphasized a defi- nite decision has not been made to purchase one of Sutphen's rebuilt trucks.

AFD has spoken to representatives of Pierce Manufacturing of Appleton, Wis. Pierce built Wauseon's new aerial ladder truck, which AFD officials have looked over.

They also plan to look at aerials built by Kovatch Mobile Equipment (KME) of Nesquehoning, Pa., and Emergency One (E-1) of Ocala, Fla. Brodbeck said E-1 will have a demonstrator in Archbold, Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 3 pm.

Brodbeck said AFD representatives plan to meet with the trustees at the next meeting, Monday, Feb. 11 at the German Township building.

Mari Yoder, township fiscal officer, said she will research the bidding process for fire trucks. The question is how to write bid specifications for the rebuilt vehicles.

In a later interview, Brodbeck said AFD members "still have a lot of things to consider."

A rebuilt truck from Sutphen is, "still an option. We want to look at other vehicles."