NEW BEDFORD — A new state-of-the-art fire truck rolled out this week, ready for the thousands of emergency calls that are in its future.
Fire Chief Scott Kruger said the new pumper truck, manufactured by industry leader E-ONE, will replace a 2008 pumper truck.
"That served us well for 16 years," he said.
The new truck's home is Station 8, 1599 Acushnet Ave.
And the price was right.
Same truck would cost $1 million if ordered today
Kruger said the fully equipped truck, which the New Bedford Fire Department helped design, cost $750,000. That compares with the $435,000 the city paid for its 2008 predecessor.
He said the same truck would cost around $1 million if the deal were struck today.
That's because the city was looking ahead two years ago, he said, and made the deal in advance — as well as a deal on a new ladder truck due to arrive next month.
The city was able to lock into a price and rates, saving money, Kruger said, while sidestepping COVID-related supply-chain issues.
New Bedford Fire Dept. helped with design
The new truck's a little bit less than 32 feet long, he said, which will help it navigate narrow streets.
"We basically designed it to get everything we wanted," Kruger said.
"We put together a design team. We had a bunch of people working on it."
Kruger said they even made a mock hose storage compartment from wood donated by Home Depot to show E-ONE just what was wanted.
New ladder truck arriving in August
The city's last new truck, Ladder 4, arrived in 2021, replacing a 2004 ladder truck, he said.
The new ladder truck arriving next month will replace downtown's Ladder 1 — and at similar savings, Kruger said.
"This ladder truck, if we were to buy it today, would have been at least $250,000 more."
Ladder 1 is the department's busiest ladder truck, and logs over 2,000 runs a year. Engine 8 logs more than 2,200 runs in a year.
There are additional savings, Kruger added, because the new vehicles won't need the more expensive repairs and parts required to keep the older trucks running.
City officials thanked for their support
"It's a win for the Fire Department," Kruger said. "We're glad we have the support of the Mitchell Administration and the City Council for being proactive in this."
Mayor Jon Mitchell issued the following statement: “Two years ago, anticipating acceleration of cost increases for emergency equipment, we took the unusual step of ordering two fire apparatuses at once, knowing that they wouldn’t arrive for at least two years. It paid off as we are receiving two state-of-the-art vehicles for hundreds of thousands of dollars less than what we’d pay today.”
Two more fire trucks are on order
And two more trucks are on order, scheduled to arrive in April 2025.
They will be replacing two of the city's busiest engines, which date from 2014, Kruger said.
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