LITCHFIELD — Selectmen have authorized Town Manager Michael Byron to buy two new firetrucks.
The vehicles come from E-One /Greenwood Emergency Vehicles, which has a service and parts location in Brunswick.
Byron said the order was submitted Wednesday. The new vehicles will allow the Litchfield Fire & Rescue to retire three older vehicles.
Fire Chief Stan Labbe said the department is down one tanker and is likely to be calling for mutual aid more quickly.
“The truck I put out of service is a 5,000-gallon tanker,” Labbe said. “It hurt me badly.”
Labbe made a plea for the trucks’ replacement in a message to residents before June’s annual Town Meeting. “Our plan is to downsize and still keep the same high standards we provide now,” he told them.
Residents approved spending $405,000 to replace or refurbish four of the front-line vehicles.
Litchfield Fire & Rescue will be acquiring a new, 2,000-gallon tanker as well as a new combination fire and rescue vehicle to carry small tools and equipment needed for first responders, Labbe said.
The bid from E-One, a national manufacturer of fire rescue vehicles, was selected because the prices were submitted on time — as opposed to two other bidders and because service and training support is in Brunswick, according to a presentation made to selectmen Tuesday.
Byron said the town will provide payment up front to achieve a $6,000 discount, and bring the project total down to $328,000.
“From the time they get the chassis for the new vehicles, it would be some 240 days to delivery,” Labbe said,
The bid also includes retrofitting Engine 65 with a foam system.
Some $75,000 will pay for refurbishing Truck 57 at Reliance Fire Pump & Aerial Ladder Repair in Vassalboro.
Byron said the town secured a 10-year loan of $300,000 from The Bank of Maine at 3.21 percent interest to help fund the project. The loan repayments will be almost $3,000 per month, amounts built into the town budget, Byron said. The town is putting in an additional $105,000 toward the cost.
Labbe and Deputy Chief Jack Samson both recommended E-One/Greenwood.
“They provided us with a great brush truck last year; many of our mutual aid departments can’t believe what we got for our money,” their written recommendation states. “They have stood behind training and repair work.”
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