Quote:
Originally Posted by Woodsy
VitaBene...
While it might sound like a good idea... there is a huge difference between a streetsweeper (non-critical capital equipment) and a fire truck (life-critical capital equipment)! Can you imagine the lawsuit if someone dies because the used firetruck the town bought broke down at a critical time?
Fire trucks may look excellent on the outside but be completely worn out internally.... the high pressure pumps and plumbing start to fail, the tanks rust out, the suspension is shot etc etc. All of these are BIG $$$ repairs with very little return on the repair investment.
Most cities and towns here in the US are very budget minded. Due to the high cost of purchasing a new fire truck, the only time a capital piece of fire equipment gets traded is usually when it is completely worn out. Very very rarely does a city or town just trade in a perfectly good fire truck for an upgrade. In fact due to budget constraints alot of the preventative maintenance that would extend the life of a fire truck is skipped altogether, hastening its replacement. Definitely a pennywise and pound foolish way of doing things, but most cities & towns use the "If ain't broke, don't fix it" axiom.
I dont know if Meredith really needed a $750K Aerial Ladder or not, thats for the townsfolk to decide. No doubt for $750K it was optioned up. If I were a Meredith resident, I would be looking to see if the fire dept/seletmen pursued any federal grants or monies available to help mitigate the cost.
Woodsy
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Woodsy, you make good points- thanks! I think you hit on the correct issue- the need for the rig. I don't know- I am in Moultonborough. It just seems like a lot of $$ for Meredith to spend on a very limited duty item.