Pittsfield assesses fire equipment needs

PITTSFIELD – Nobody at the Town Council meeting Tuesday night argued with Fire Chief Bernard Williams when he said the town’s firefighting equipment was aging.

“Our ‘new’ firetruck that everyone keeps talking about is 15 years old,” he said. “Two years ago we went to a parade and brought home the trophy for having the oldest vehicle there.”

Williams was not talking about the department’s antique Seagraves truck, either. He was pitching for a new truck, an aerial, and pointing out that most of the town’s firetrucks were built in the 1970s.

The need for an aerial is immediate and real, Williams told councilors. There are buildings in Pittsfield that the Fire Department’s ladders cannot reach. There is the safety issue of putting firefighters on roofs fighting chimney fires when the ladder won’t stretch to the chimney.

In addition, he said, although homeowners would not see an appreciable difference in their fire insurance rates, commercial property owners would. “Maine Central Institute, Walpole, the school – that’s where the savings would be,” said the chief.

The problem, Councilor Peter “Andi” Vigue joked, “is that we don’t have a machine out back printing money.”

The town has $185,000 in a capital reserve fund for firetruck purchases. That has traditionally been added to at the rate of $15,000 a year.

Williams said trucks could cost “from $50,000 to a million dollars, depending on what you want.” He said a good, used vehicle, 10 to 15 years old, could be purchased for $200,000 and serve the town well.

Vigue contended that if the entire amount were spent this year on a single truck, the coffers would be empty when one of the 20-year-old pumper trucks needs to be replaced.

Vigue suggested that Williams look at selling the two oldest pumper trucks and using that money to replenish the capital reserve fund. He pointed out that all of the towns surrounding Pittsfield, with which the town has mutual aid, have many pumpers. By selling the two oldest, the town would still have two pumpers and could rely on mutual aid more often.

Assistant Fire Chief Dean Billings, responding to councilors’ questions, said the Fire Department had handled 63 calls in the first six months of 2001. Ten of those required mutual aid.

Williams said he would have to take some time to think of the impact of selling the two pumpers on the department’s efficiency and ability.

Mayor Gary Jordan said that although he recognized the need for an aerial truck, “we obviously can’t make a commitment on a new vehicle.”

Town Manager D. Dwight Dogherty, however, expressed concerns about purchasing a used truck. “The problem with that is that if you buy a 15-year-old truck, you are talking about a piece of equipment with half of its life gone by.”

Several councilors talked about the possibility of an ordinance requiring homeowners to clean their chimneys annually and if they have a chimney fire and cannot provide proof of that cleaning, they could be held responsible for fire suppression costs. Any income from those fires could be used to offset equipment costs.

Councilor Jack Wright questioned whether an aerial truck was needed at all.

“I think we do when you look around this community. Look at the new building MCI just put up and all those three-story buildings up there have kids in them,” said Jordan.

“I think we need to listen to the recommendations of Bernard Williams and the Fire Department,” responded Councilor Robert Stackhouse. “We’re not professional firefighters. They are.”