new $750,000 Meredith fire truck

wifi · 11-06-2009, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoBozo

....they would get FLUORIDE and their teeth wouldn't ROT.....

Be careful of fluoride: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4XhhTF7vRM

NoBozo · 11-06-2009, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wifi

Be careful of fluoride: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4XhhTF7vRM

Precious Bodily Fluids: Totally Off Topic...However..

That movie was one of my all time favorites. I remember that guy with the cowboy hat...was it Slim Pickens.? .... Flying out of the bomb bay of that B-52 straddling a nuke bomb. Fire In The Hole...YEE Hah..Those were the days.

NB

scubajay1153 · 11-06-2009, 02:37 PM

A fire rages around your chimney burning thru the roof of your 2.5 story home that is 35 feet high to the peak and it 45 feet back from the road. Your trees prevent the large fire apparatus from driving in close to the scene and your nice new metal roof precludes the use of standard fire service ground ladders for access. Any guess how long of a reach it is for the tower to get to your chimney? (Thats right, a minimum of 80 feet of aerial ladder) Any guess how much safer it is to work from the platform to open the roof to get at the fire than to teeter on ladders (on a wintery metal roof to boot)? Any guess how long it takes to take those same hand thrown ground ladders and move them from window to window on different floors and on different sides of the building rescuing one screaming guest at a time from the hotel? Wanna guess how much easier it is (and how much SAFER) to move from window to window with the bucket and "pick off" those people in groups of 3, 4, or 5 before sending them down the ladder in care of a firefighter, or even better, lowering them directly to the ground?

I am not a Meredith FF nor a Meredith town resident. I am a professional firefighter who, like everyone else in the region, works in a department that does the most it can with the manpower and equipment we have. This truck bought by the town was bought FOR it's residents, tax payers and their property and more importantly their SAFETY. We have a tough job. We still do it, and believe me it is NOT for the "Cadillac" benefits packages. Most of us don't have dental and surely not the top notch insurances. The best thing anyone can do in this instance is to go to the Fire Station, knock on the door and ASK the fire chief and his members about the department, the job, and the new truck and how it affects things. It is their responsibility to inform and educate you and it's your right to know. Ask them, most of us love to talk about our jobs and how it affects the community. You might just walk away richer for the experience.

brk-lnt · 11-06-2009, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scubajay1153

A fire rages around your chimney burning thru the roof of your 2.5 story home that is 35 feet high to the peak and it 45 feet back from the road.

It's nice of you (and everyone else) to offer some descriptions/justifications of the 100' ladder truck. I don't think any of the normal and rational people here ever called the purchase into question though. You're basically tilting at windmills trying to argue with people comparing fire trucks to dental plans.

Just use the "ignore" feature and move on...

ITD · 11-06-2009, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brk-lnt

It's nice of you (and everyone else) to offer some descriptions/justifications of the 100' ladder truck. I don't think any of the normal and rational people here ever called the purchase into question though. You're basically tilting at windmills trying to argue with people comparing fire trucks to dental plans.

Just use the "ignore" feature and move on...

Maybe a certain person just found out he has gingivitis?

Rattlesnake Guy · 11-06-2009, 07:56 PM

Let it go the first time but can't again

750,000 at 5% interest for 20 years = $60,000 per year.

If they put all of the money into your mouth and didn't buy a truck...

$60,000 / 6617 residents = $9.06 dental benefit per year.

Don't forget to hire someone to administer.

I don't think you can read the magazines in the dentist office for 9 bucks a year.

boat_guy64 · 11-06-2009, 08:50 PM

FLL,

You can get FREE, yes FREE dental cleanings at the Concord campus of NHTI. They have a dental hygiene program and have students that need clinical patients on a daily basis. You can get your teeth cleaned for free and Meredith still gets their ladder truck. You also help a student get clinical experience. What a deal.

My wife graduated from the program and they were always looking for patients.

Coolbreeze · 11-06-2009, 10:17 PM

FLL,
You could do the town a favor and dress up as Santa for the town parade and you might even be allowed to ride in the bucket of the new truck during the parade. And don't worry about your halitosis, it will be drowned out by the smell of the moth balls from storing the Santa suit.
Cheers!

RI Swamp Yankee · 11-06-2009, 10:41 PM

I am confused, is this a thread about paying a lot for a fire truck or a thread about dental care?

ACutAbove · 11-06-2009, 11:07 PM

FLL are you a dentist just trying to drum up some business??? HAHA

I have heard that the fire dept . has been saving money for about 12 yrs to buy this truck. Now I dont know if that was rumor or not but I think it is paid for or pretty close to it. Take it for what is worth but until we know the whole story behind something lets not tear the back out of it just because someone doesnt agree with a decision to do something.
I personally would rather see money spent on a piece of equiptment that WILL save someones life...and you never know it could be yours!!!

ARV · 11-10-2009, 09:07 AM

...that I heard they have already damaged the bucket to this ladder truck and it's gone (being repaired?) from the Meredith FD.

It is heresay, but I don't believe I've seen it in Meredith lately?

fatlazyless · 11-10-2009, 09:38 AM

For about the last 24 months, the Town of Warren NH, located in Grafton County, way up in the mountains, has been looking for an ice rescue boat.

How do I know? Because the Warren volunteer Fire Dept has been running a craigslist, boat section ad looking for a donation of a 14' flat bottom boat which the fire dept will outfit for ice rescues.

Meredith has a volunteer fire department, but you never see Meredith looking for equipment donations in craigslist. As I recall, a news article from September 2008 reported that Pierce-Arrow Fire Truck of Wisconsin had a new 2008 aerial tower for sale for about $600,000 which was almost the same as the new truck but noooo(!), the Town of Meredith wanted a truck that was just the way they wanted it.....they wanted what they wanted.

While Meredith and Warren are only about a one hour drive away.....their budget and town management is like 50 years different. NH is not really a state....it's more like a collection of 250 different towns and cities, seperate and not at all equal in purchasing power.

Heaven · 11-10-2009, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

While Meredith and Warren are only about a one hour drive away.....their budget and town management is like 50 years different. NH is not really a state....it's more like a collection of 250 different towns and cities, seperate and not at all equal in purchasing power.

One hour apart by land, a thousand miles apart economically/socially.

4 for Boating · 11-10-2009, 05:54 PM

Being a home owner in Meredith my feeling is that it sometimes hard to argue any one purchase when it’s looked at in any single point in time > New police station, New (or re-furbished) fire station, New fire truck, New community center ….

However, the quantity of these large capital purchases in such a short time is what has me concerned. How much did/will the community center cost the town? Did the town know that this would be immediately followed by the new Police Station, Fire Station and then Fire Truck? Just seems like we are in a “we have the money to spend so what do we need” No thought of reducing the taxes on residents if you ask me. What to do as it’s not unlike most other towns I suppose.

Coolbreeze · 11-10-2009, 06:41 PM

I know in my department we have a committee of grant writers, all active volunteers, they look to see what government grants are available for specific equipment and they write up the grant request. We may not get 100% of the money but any little bit helps. Maybe that is what the town did for this new truck. Also, it is not unusuall for the truck to suffer some damage in the first year or two as it is a new piece of equipment that has to be put through the paces for the guys to get used to. You would be amazed at the amount of repairs that most departments have.

6meter · 11-10-2009, 07:10 PM

That is how Meredith operates. People keep giving them their money, so the powers to be keep spending it. A tax break? Come on now! Way to much Mass influence has crept up to central NH. I predict in '10 or '11 there will be a new DPW and a new library. They will vote on it in Jan or Feb so there won't be any part time residents there. The new fire truck....?? Not money well spent. If the hotels in town need a ladder truck, do as what Loudon did. Have them buy it. Besides, by the time a fire truck reaches my house, it's just ashes.

angela4design · 11-12-2009, 11:21 AM

ARV... You're absolutely right!

I heard second-hand that the truck was damaged, from backing into the building! The building is fine, but the brand new truck? $100,000 estimated repairs!!

I would hate to be the person who did it! Yikes!!

meredith weekender · 11-12-2009, 06:19 PM

You would have thought that after spending all that $$$$$ to renovate and add on to the fire house that they could have designed the larger bays as drive thru style to avoid backing large trucks up.

scubajay1153 · 11-13-2009, 10:49 AM

So it wasn't the town's property but it was being driven? So why should the manufacturer pay for something they didn't do? With as much furor as this truck has brought on this board alone I would reconsider posting a smiley that is laughing concerning this issue.

And as far as the mutual aid issue as to why a truck is bought that is hog wash. No town should contemplate the purchase of a vehicle to address the needs of another community. It should be a purchase to address the needs of THAT community SOLELY. If another community calls that resource for emergency as it can be useful in dealing with it, then so be it. I.E., We have two ladder trucks in Laconia, including our own brand new ladder tower to address OUR citizens safety and issues immediately at the onset of incidents.

11-06-2009, 02:37 PM	#3
scubajay1153 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Gilford Posts: 93 Thanks: 2 Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts	Ugh. A fire rages around your chimney burning thru the roof of your 2.5 story home that is 35 feet high to the peak and it 45 feet back from the road. Your trees prevent the large fire apparatus from driving in close to the scene and your nice new metal roof precludes the use of standard fire service ground ladders for access. Any guess how long of a reach it is for the tower to get to your chimney? (Thats right, a minimum of 80 feet of aerial ladder) Any guess how much safer it is to work from the platform to open the roof to get at the fire than to teeter on ladders (on a wintery metal roof to boot)? Any guess how long it takes to take those same hand thrown ground ladders and move them from window to window on different floors and on different sides of the building rescuing one screaming guest at a time from the hotel? Wanna guess how much easier it is (and how much SAFER) to move from window to window with the bucket and "pick off" those people in groups of 3, 4, or 5 before sending them down the ladder in care of a firefighter, or even better, lowering them directly to the ground? I am not a Meredith FF nor a Meredith town resident. I am a professional firefighter who, like everyone else in the region, works in a department that does the most it can with the manpower and equipment we have. This truck bought by the town was bought FOR it's residents, tax payers and their property and more importantly their SAFETY. We have a tough job. We still do it, and believe me it is NOT for the "Cadillac" benefits packages. Most of us don't have dental and surely not the top notch insurances. The best thing anyone can do in this instance is to go to the Fire Station, knock on the door and ASK the fire chief and his members about the department, the job, and the new truck and how it affects things. It is their responsibility to inform and educate you and it's your right to know. Ask them, most of us love to talk about our jobs and how it affects the community. You might just walk away richer for the experience.

11-06-2009, 07:56 PM	#6
Rattlesnake Guy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 1,254 Thanks: 423 Thanked 366 Times in 175 Posts	Dental Care Let it go the first time but can't again 750,000 at 5% interest for 20 years = $60,000 per year. If they put all of the money into your mouth and didn't buy a truck... $60,000 / 6617 residents = $9.06 dental benefit per year. Don't forget to hire someone to administer. I don't think you can read the magazines in the dentist office for 9 bucks a year.

11-06-2009, 08:50 PM	#7
boat_guy64 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Windham and Meredith Posts: 225 Blog Entries: 5 Thanks: 33 Thanked 90 Times in 43 Posts	Free Dental Cleanings FLL, You can get FREE, yes FREE dental cleanings at the Concord campus of NHTI. They have a dental hygiene program and have students that need clinical patients on a daily basis. You can get your teeth cleaned for free and Meredith still gets their ladder truck. You also help a student get clinical experience. What a deal. My wife graduated from the program and they were always looking for patients.

11-06-2009, 10:41 PM	#9
RI Swamp Yankee Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: North Kingstown RI Posts: 688 Thanks: 143 Thanked 83 Times in 55 Posts	I am confused, is this a thread about paying a lot for a fire truck or a thread about dental care? __________________ Gene ~ aka "another RI Swamp Yankee"

11-10-2009, 09:07 AM	#11
ARV Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 53 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Too bad... ...that I heard they have already damaged the bucket to this ladder truck and it's gone (being repaired?) from the Meredith FD. It is heresay, but I don't believe I've seen it in Meredith lately?

11-06-2009, 10:17 PM	#8
Coolbreeze Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 332 Thanks: 0 Thanked 51 Times in 26 Posts	FLL, You could do the town a favor and dress up as Santa for the town parade and you might even be allowed to ride in the bucket of the new truck during the parade. And don't worry about your halitosis, it will be drowned out by the smell of the moth balls from storing the Santa suit. Cheers!

11-06-2009, 11:07 PM	#10
ACutAbove Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Holderness Posts: 219 Thanks: 7 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	FLL are you a dentist just trying to drum up some business??? HAHA I have heard that the fire dept . has been saving money for about 12 yrs to buy this truck. Now I dont know if that was rumor or not but I think it is paid for or pretty close to it. Take it for what is worth but until we know the whole story behind something lets not tear the back out of it just because someone doesnt agree with a decision to do something. I personally would rather see money spent on a piece of equiptment that WILL save someones life...and you never know it could be yours!!!

11-10-2009, 09:38 AM	#12
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,793 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 301 Thanked 1,024 Times in 745 Posts	For about the last 24 months, the Town of Warren NH, located in Grafton County, way up in the mountains, has been looking for an ice rescue boat. How do I know? Because the Warren volunteer Fire Dept has been running a craigslist, boat section ad looking for a donation of a 14' flat bottom boat which the fire dept will outfit for ice rescues. Meredith has a volunteer fire department, but you never see Meredith looking for equipment donations in craigslist. As I recall, a news article from September 2008 reported that Pierce-Arrow Fire Truck of Wisconsin had a new 2008 aerial tower for sale for about $600,000 which was almost the same as the new truck but noooo(!), the Town of Meredith wanted a truck that was just the way they wanted it.....they wanted what they wanted. While Meredith and Warren are only about a one hour drive away.....their budget and town management is like 50 years different. NH is not really a state....it's more like a collection of 250 different towns and cities, seperate and not at all equal in purchasing power. __________________ ... down and out, liv'n that Walmart side of the lake!

11-10-2009, 05:54 PM	#14
4 for Boating Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 228 Thanks: 1 Thanked 38 Times in 26 Posts	Being a home owner in Meredith my feeling is that it sometimes hard to argue any one purchase when it’s looked at in any single point in time > New police station, New (or re-furbished) fire station, New fire truck, New community center …. However, the quantity of these large capital purchases in such a short time is what has me concerned. How much did/will the community center cost the town? Did the town know that this would be immediately followed by the new Police Station, Fire Station and then Fire Truck? Just seems like we are in a “we have the money to spend so what do we need” No thought of reducing the taxes on residents if you ask me. What to do as it’s not unlike most other towns I suppose.

11-10-2009, 06:41 PM	#15
Coolbreeze Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 332 Thanks: 0 Thanked 51 Times in 26 Posts	I know in my department we have a committee of grant writers, all active volunteers, they look to see what government grants are available for specific equipment and they write up the grant request. We may not get 100% of the money but any little bit helps. Maybe that is what the town did for this new truck. Also, it is not unusuall for the truck to suffer some damage in the first year or two as it is a new piece of equipment that has to be put through the paces for the guys to get used to. You would be amazed at the amount of repairs that most departments have.

11-10-2009, 07:10 PM	#16
6meter Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 27 Thanks: 2 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Tea Party time That is how Meredith operates. People keep giving them their money, so the powers to be keep spending it. A tax break? Come on now! Way to much Mass influence has crept up to central NH. I predict in '10 or '11 there will be a new DPW and a new library. They will vote on it in Jan or Feb so there won't be any part time residents there. The new fire truck....?? Not money well spent. If the hotels in town need a ladder truck, do as what Loudon did. Have them buy it. Besides, by the time a fire truck reaches my house, it's just ashes.

11-12-2009, 11:21 AM	#17
angela4design Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Meredith Posts: 353 Thanks: 45 Thanked 54 Times in 38 Posts	Damage already! ARV... You're absolutely right! I heard second-hand that the truck was damaged, from backing into the building! The building is fine, but the brand new truck? $100,000 estimated repairs!! I would hate to be the person who did it! Yikes!!

11-12-2009, 06:19 PM	#18
meredith weekender Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Meredith / Manchester Posts: 373 Thanks: 87 Thanked 84 Times in 57 Posts	You would have thought that after spending all that $$$$$ to renovate and add on to the fire house that they could have designed the larger bays as drive thru style to avoid backing large trucks up.

11-13-2009, 10:49 AM	#19
scubajay1153 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Gilford Posts: 93 Thanks: 2 Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts	So it wasn't the town's property but it was being driven? So why should the manufacturer pay for something they didn't do? With as much furor as this truck has brought on this board alone I would reconsider posting a smiley that is laughing concerning this issue. And as far as the mutual aid issue as to why a truck is bought that is hog wash. No town should contemplate the purchase of a vehicle to address the needs of another community. It should be a purchase to address the needs of THAT community SOLELY. If another community calls that resource for emergency as it can be useful in dealing with it, then so be it. I.E., We have two ladder trucks in Laconia, including our own brand new ladder tower to address OUR citizens safety and issues immediately at the onset of incidents.