By Deana Stroisch
The State Journal-Register
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — About half of the fire engines, trucks and battalion-chief vehicles that make up the Springfield Fire Department fleet are more than 10 years old.
Seven have more than 100,000 miles on them.
Fire Chief Ken Fustin wants to buy about $2.6 million worth of new equipment next year — a $1.2 million fire truck for the downtown station, two smaller fire trucks, two battalion vehicles and two rescue vehicles.
He has asked that some of the equipment be included in next year’s budget, which begins March 1. But Fustin also is seeking permission to borrow money to buy the rest.
Mayor Mike Houston said it’s too early to say how the fire department’s request will fare vs. those of other departments — and whether the city will have enough money to pay for it all.
Houston agreed, though, with Fustin’s desire for an annual replacement program.
Eventually, the fire chief said, he wants the department to be able to buy one new fire truck or engine a year.
“In past administrations, we’ve had to buy several at a time,” he said. “Unfortunately, they all wear out at the same time.”
Trucks are worst
Typically, Fustin said, cities Springfield’s size expect fire engines and trucks to last about 15 years — 10 years on the front lines responding to daily calls and five years as “spares.”
“We have historically well exceeded that,” he said.
Springfield’s truck companies are in most need of replacements, according to Fustin.
The department’s three fire trucks, which have aerial ladders and rescue equipment but no water, are all at least 10 years old. They are housed downtown, at Station 12 on Koke Mill Road and at Station 2 on Stevenson Drive.
There are no spares.
Fustin recalled a recent day when the city had to ask that a truck from Sherman’s fire department respond to a Springfield incident.
Two Springfield trucks had been dispatched to an overturned tractor-trailer on the interstate, and the third was out of service due to manning issues. Under the previous administration, minimum firefighting staffing levels were reduced from 49 to 46, requiring a truck company to be shut down on occasion.
Trucks are the biggest expense, Fustin said. Replacing the one downtown could cost $1.2 million. Fustin also wants to add two smaller trucks, at a cost of about $600,000 each.
The chief said he would like to replace the two battalion vehicles next year as well. Those vehicles, which are used by the battalion chiefs, carry spare oxygen bottles and other equipment. The two current battalion vehicles, both Chevy Suburbans, were purchased in 2003. They, too, have no backups, Fustin said.
Fire engines
The department has 16 engines, one at each of the city’s 12 fire stations and four spares. Each engine has a pump and carries 750 gallons of water, hoses and EMS equipment.
The oldest engine, bought in 1988, has more than 121,800 miles on it. Fustin said the engine isn’t compliant with National Fire Protection Association standards because it does not have an enclosed cab. Instead, it’s used for fire science classes through Lincoln Land Community College.
The average age of the front-line engines is 9 years. The average age of the four spares is almost 18.
Springfield’s newest engine, bought in 2009, is at Station 7, 1428 Glenwood Ave. Three other engines were bought in 2007.
In recent years, a new truck or engine has been placed at the station where the equipment most needs to be replaced. But that could change.
Depending on what happens during the budget process, Fustin said, he might have to move engines to different stations to get more out of them.
Stations 1, 4 and 5 are the busiest engine companies, he said. The three fire engines at those stations were all purchased in 2002, and each has logged about 100,000 miles.
“If we’re not successful in getting something out of this year’s budget, then, yeah, we’re going to have to do some serious relocation of resources,” Fustin said.
Houston said he was surprised to learn that some of the newer fire engines already have gone more than 100,000 miles.
“One of the things we need to look at is how we are using that equipment in terms of answering medical calls and come up with a more cost-effective way to do that,” he said.
Budget talks
The fire department’s budget for the current fiscal year is $31.2 million. Payroll makes up nearly all of that.
Fustin hopes there will be money for more equipment, but knows he has to stand in line.
“We’re just one spoke in the wheel of city government,” he said. “I have made the leadership of the city well aware of our needs.”
Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards, who previously served as fire chief, said a long line of chiefs has wanted some type of equipment-replacement program. The problem: expensive trucks and not enough money.
“As we look at contracts and raises, it doesn’t leave a lot to do other things,” Edwards said.
With budget talks expected to begin next month, Edwards acknowledged that there are a number of priorities for the city.
“We’ve got roads that are falling apart. Everything’s a priority, and we understand that,” he said. “It all comes down to the mayor’s lead on this. What does he want to do? How does he want to do it?”
To Houston, an annual replacement program would be ideal.
“As we take a look at purchases such as fire trucks, police cars, trucks for the public works department, we need to be doing something on an annual basis,” Houston said. “The overall fleet within the city is not good. It’s very high mileage. But the fire department is not alone in terms of being in that type of shape.”
Other departments also working with old equipment
The Rochester and Sherman fire departments have much older equipment than Springfield’s, each with at least one piece of equipment more than 40 years old.
Chief Rich Coon said the Sherman Fire Protection District replaces equipment on an as-needed basis. There isn’t enough money to replace equipment each year, he said.
“We try to run them as much as we can and keep them well maintained so they’re safe,” Coon said. “Budget is a big thing, and need is the second.”
Sherman’s inventory consists of six apparatuses, the newest a 2007 100-foot aerial platform truck. The oldest is a 1970 tanker.
Coon said the district plans to replace the tanker this year, a purchase that’s been in the works for two years.
In Rochester, the fire department has two engines — one bought in 2007 and the other in 1989 — and three tankers. The newest of those was bought in 2009 and the oldest in 1999. The department also has three staff vehicles, the oldest a 1988 Chevy Suburban.
There’s “no rhyme or reason” to how the department replaces vehicles, Rochester Chief Mark Poffenberger said. Officials make sure to keep the EMS and fire engines in good shape and test all the equipment each year.
“We just have a budget we’ve got to stay in,” he said.
Poffenberger noted that Rochester’s equipment is older than Springfield’s, but that Springfield responds to many more calls.
Chatham has newer equipment than its neighbors. The community fire protection district has a 2000 aerial platform truck and two brush trucks, one bought in 2010 and the other in 2006.
Three fire engines range in age from 2008 to 1990. The oldest apparatus is a 1990 tanker, according to the district’s website.
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