By Chantal M. Lovell
The Redlands Daily Facts
REDLANDS, Calif. — The Redlands Fire Department is planning to add a new ladder truck to its fleet by the end of the year but needs the public’s help in doing so.
Last week, the Redlands City Council accepted a federal grant in the amount of $636,000 that will be used to purchase a new ladder truck, allowing the department to decommission its 36-year-old reserve truck. The grant, part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 2010 Assistance to Firefighter’s Grant, covers 80 percent of the truck’s cost and the department has committed to raise the remaining 20 percent, said Chief Jeff Frazier.
He said no money will be taken from the General Fund to cover the $159,000 the department must pay for the truck. Donations are being accepted now and formal fundraising efforts will begin soon.
“Our community has been renowned and it has, in fact, been documented as being a community that is supported by philanthropic efforts, so I’m confident that they will not let us down and we can move forward on this process,” Frazier said.
Frazier said the department is still planning just how it will raise funds, but does intend to put fliers requesting donations in water bills within the next month. People, businesses or organizations may start sending or delivering the tax-deductible donations directly to the department.
City Manager N. Enrique Martinez said the city will assist the department if it cannot raise the money by the time it is due in December, but not by giving it missing funds. He said, with consent of the council, the city could loan the Redlands Fire Department the needed money, with the understanding that fundraising would continue and the department would pay off the loan.
The department currently has two ladder trucks, one built in 1998 and one in 1975. The 1975 truck serves on a reserve status, but is used in as many as 18 percent of emergencies, Frazier said. Most local departments only keep their ladder trucks about 20 years.
“The National Fire Protection Association has recently come out with a standard where they say 25 years and you really should send (a ladder truck) off to pasture,” he said.
When the department receives the new truck, the 1998 model will be used on a reserve basis and the 1975 truck will be decommissioned and sold for parts or to a collector, Frazier said.
“The federal government will require that that apparatus can no longer be used, because it will be deemed obsolete at that juncture,” Frazier said.
Frazier said the money from the sale of the truck can be used to offset the $159,000, but does not expect it to bring in much extra cash.
“There’s a small market of collectors out there,” Frazier said. “I would not be surprised if it went at auction for less than $5,000.”
Frazier said a new truck will be safer for firefighters and the public. Newer models come equipped with anti-lock breaks, shoulder belts, a closed cab and a safer aerial ladder. The ladder on the department’s 1975 model has been known to malfunction.
“The fact is, as the age of the metal increases, there’s greater potential for metal fatigue and failure (on the ladder),” Frazier said.
The department uses the trucks to fight fires in buildings two stories and greater, in historic buildings that can be difficult to reach, and to fight fires in wide buildings. The trucks are also used to transport large equipment, including the Jaws of Life, and ventilation, rescue and hazardous materials equipment.
The department has sent out bids to find a company interested in building the truck. Frazier said it can take seven to eight months to build a ladder truck but that the department will have it by Dec. 8, which is the deadline for purchasing the truck according to the grant.
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