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Peterborough Fire/Rescue 16 Summer Street Peterborough, NH 03458 Emergency Dial 911 603-924-8090 Business 603-924-8091 Fax |
Article from The Peterborough Transcript, July 24, 2003 Dara Vernier Peterborough Transcript 7/24/03
PETERBOROUGH-After a week of intense investigation, the Fire Department has decided on a ladder truck they would like to purchase. The Department's current ladder truck is a 1978 model, worth about $15,000, which would cost an estimated $100,000 to refurbish.
The Fire Department and a 16-member committee spent a week looking at seven demo trucks, and testing them out to see which would best fit Peterborough's needs. Firefighters Jon Hampson and Mike Roper and Chief William Naugle presented the Department's findings to the Board of Selectmen Tuesday night. Firefighters, committee members and two members of the Budget Committee took the seven demo trucks to different parts of town, determining the best chassis size, height, amount of compartment space for tools, maneuverability, jacking system and gradeability, among other things. The Department needs a truck with a narrow jacking system, because of the narrow roads and driveways in town. It also needs a truck that is not too high, so it will fit in the garage at the Fire Station. Gradeability is an important factor, because of steep roads like Vale Street. One demo truck, according to the firefighters, couldn't make it up Vale Street from a stopped position.
The truck the Department has decided on is an E-1 HM100. The Department has proposed purchasing a demo truck, built to suit Peterborough's specifications, that would be used by the dealer for six months before it is given to the town. This would save the town about $30,000-40,000, according to Hampson. The demo truck would cost approximately $547,000. "Ironically," said Hampson, "the truck that meets the needs of Peterborough is one of the lowest cost ones" that the Department looked at. The sale of the old truck is not included in this price, but that is a possibility, Hampson said.
The Department would like to hold public hearings on the truck purchase in November, and include it on the warrant for the 2004 town meeting.
Andrew Manns, the town's trustee of trust funds, will be helping the Department figure out the best way to purchase the truck, perhaps through either a lease or bond.
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