The Bethel Fire Apparatus Committee is recommending the town sign off on $1,400 to have a complete inspection done on an aerial fire truck, which is currently out of service because the ladder won't extend. 

The Committee was formed as Bethel officials look into the best option for getting a working aerial ladder truck in town for the Bethel Fire Department.  Stony Hill Fire Company will also likely need an aerial truck in the near future due to growth in that section of town.  They currently do not have one. 

If the funding is approved, Committee Chairman Richard Thode says a representative from manufacturer Sutphen will come out and do a complete inspection of the truck.  First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker agreed it would be worthwhile.  Thode says corporate will then give the committee a status of the truck and a price for repairs.  While any repair won't guarantee another 20 years of life for the truck, it would get it back in service. 

Thode says the committee was told the truck was a pet project of Sutphen and there were no records, but the representative relayed that he found that hard to believe.  Thode was asked to give the company the chassis number, because the representative was sure they have the records since it's a 2006.  If it was built in the 70s, it could be plausible that the records don't exist.