By Silvio Panta
The Odessa American
ODESSA, Texas — Odessa Fire/Rescue officials have already sent out a purchase order for 10 new fire trucks worth $7.3 million to replace the current fleet of vehicles that has run up high maintenance costs last year, Fire Chief Roger Boyd said.
The seven engines and three ladder trucks would take a year to design and construct, and would also carry a “bumper-to-bumper” eight-year warranty. The Pierce brand fire trucks the OFD is seeking would be manufactured in Appleton, Wis., Boyd said.
But a design meeting that would iron out the seating arrangements, or configuration, of the fire truck’s cab would have to take place, and the first such meeting is slated late in the summer. Ordering the new trucks is part of a plan that had been in place for almost 10 years, Boyd said.
“We’re still a little ways off,” Boyd said.
Maintenance costs for each of those trucks has soared to $650,000 in 2015, John Alvarez, OFR assistant chief of operations, said.
The expense became a concern to fire official considering that $750,000 was budgeted in the OFR’s maintenance fund, which does not cover ambulances, city of Odessa spokeswoman Andrea Goodson said.
The maintenance fund would not be budgeted at the same amount the next fiscal year, she said. That’s why the new fire trucks’ extended warranties would be welcomed, Goodson said.
Boyd said he was thrilled at the prospect of getting the trucks in a year’s time as part of the OFR’s plan, adding that the firefighters are “really excited.”
In the meantime, the current fleet of seven fire trucks would remain in service. Once the new trucks are delivered, two of them would be housed at each of the eight fire stations and two of them would be set aside as reserves, Boyd said.
“It’s been a long-term plan (to buy the trucks) for quite some time,” Boyd said. Boyd added that the new trucks to be ordered would be used at the OFD’s eight stations.
Mayor David Turner said he was pleased with the upcoming purchase at a time when maintenance costs are “pretty high.”
“I’m excited,” Turner said. “I’m excited for our firefighters”
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