Danbury is looking to purchase two new Pierce Velocity Pumper trucks for the Fire Department. The purchase price is about $1.16 million. Funding was included in the current fiscal year's budget, and plans are to set aside some funding in the coming year's budget for this purpose. The proposed lease may be extended over 10 budget years, depending on terms and conditions.
Equipment Supervisor Joe Cavo says the two new engines would replace the two oldest, highest mileage trucks. The next two oldest trucks would be moved out to the lower call volume stations.
The new pumper trucks would be built to the City's specifications and shipped out in about two months.
Cavo says these trucks run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They respond in good weather, through flooding, in snow storms and all other kinds of weather.
Cavo says the technology in cars normally develops out of the trucking industry first. That includes anti-lock brakes, air bag technology and emissions systems. Cavo says these new trucks run exceptionally clean because the EPA has become very stringent on diesel engines. A large part of the cost for the trucks is because of the engine. Cavo says it's over $100,000 often times just to put the engine into the framework.
