new $750,000 Meredith fire truck

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.

Pineedles · 11-12-2009, 08:22 PM

I would have thought that they would have insurance to pay for accidental damage? I'm sure they do.

username5 · 11-12-2009, 09:59 PM

Accidents do happen and insurance does exist.

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.

twoplustwo · 11-13-2009, 11:13 AM

It's a fire truck, folks. It's designed to save your life and help protect the lives of the firefighters while they are saving you. Their hours suck, their lives are constantly interrupted and they are underpaid, IMO, for putting their lives on the line for us every day. The least we can do is make sure they have the equipment they need to do their job.

Our towns have spent the past few years in a ridiculous competition to outspend each other on one Taj Mahal or another. We have lots to complain about where spending is concerned. A fire truck shouldn't be on that list.

FLL, go to Concord and get your teeth fixed. And hope your overtaxed lakefront doesn't catch on fire while you're there. I'd hate to have you complaining about the gas the new fire truck used to go there and put it out.

angela4design · 11-13-2009, 05:28 PM

$35,000 for repair sounds more plausible; as I disclaimed, I had heard that $100k price tag second hand.

I for one, wouldn't want to try driving any of those emergency vehicles. A new vehicle is hard enough to get used to, without the added factors of length, height, etc. I always wondered how they get used to driving a truck which has a seat that's already like 6' higher than the ground!

Our firefighters are INDISPENSABLE, and I wouldn't breathe a bad word about them. If my house was on fire, the last thing I would be worrying about is how much the truck cost to put it out. I wouldn't wonder for anyone ELSE's house, either! It's not like it has a hefty price tag because it has flatscreens, DVD players and hot rims... it's a FIRE TRUCK! Everything on it serves a purpose to do a job, to protect our lives and property and the lives and safety of the rescue workers on it. And God Bless Them for Doing it!

username5 · 11-13-2009, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by angela4design

"Our firefighters are INDISPENSABLE, and I wouldn't breathe a bad word about them. If my house was on fire, the last thing I would be worrying about is how much the truck cost to put it out. I wouldn't wonder for anyone ELSE's house, either! It's not like it has a hefty price tag because it has flatscreens, DVD players and hot rims... it's a FIRE TRUCK! Everything on it serves a purpose to do a job, to protect our lives and property and the lives and safety of the rescue workers on it. And God Bless Them for Doing it!

"

Agreed!!! Everyone should be supportive.

fatlazyless · 11-13-2009, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scubajay1153

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.

.....hey ScubaJay......what type of tower truck has Laconia recently purchased? Is it a $750,000, 100' tower, 2009 Pierce with a 5500 gpm pump like what Meredith now has?

Probably, Laconia got their "new" truck at the Saint Vincent dePaul second hand store for twelve dollars because it is a large plastic, toy model fire engine.....nice try.....keep dream'n about a real aerial tower for Laconia

....!

scubajay1153 · 11-15-2009, 09:41 AM

FLL, I have no clue why I am bothering to justify you're post with a reply but I will.

Since this time last year I have sat on the committee that planned, spec'd out and traveled not once, but twice to Florida on purchasing and inspections and acceptance missions. Not only that but I have driven this "dream" of a ladder truck twice and set it up a handful of times. It has been out and about the last two weeks as the members get trained and familiarized with the unit prior to being put in service.

And for the record it is a 2009 E-One 100 ft ladder tower (no pump or water tank) with front bumper mounted hydraulic rescue tools and numerous other features designed and spec'd by us for our community needs. Unsure of exact figures as we received some grant monies for the unit but I believe it is around $8-900,000 from taxpayers money.

Not sure why you feel the need to be snide and condescending nor why I feel the need to reply to you. But this is for the benefit of the others in this forum who are civil.

11-06-2009, 10:41 PM	#2
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	#4
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?

11-10-2009, 09:38 AM	#5
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,795 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, 07:10 PM	#9
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	#10
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!!

11-06-2009, 10:17 PM	#1
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	#3
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, 05:54 PM	#7
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	#8
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.

11-12-2009, 06:19 PM	#11
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.

11-12-2009, 08:22 PM	#12
Pineedles Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Moultonborough & CT Posts: 2,545 Thanks: 1,072 Thanked 668 Times in 367 Posts	I would have thought that they would have insurance to pay for accidental damage? I'm sure they do.

11-12-2009, 09:59 PM	#13
username5 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Accidents do happen and insurance does exist.

11-13-2009, 10:49 AM	#14
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.

11-13-2009, 11:13 AM	#15
twoplustwo Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 456 Thanks: 51 Thanked 39 Times in 21 Posts	wah wah wah It's a fire truck, folks. It's designed to save your life and help protect the lives of the firefighters while they are saving you. Their hours suck, their lives are constantly interrupted and they are underpaid, IMO, for putting their lives on the line for us every day. The least we can do is make sure they have the equipment they need to do their job. Our towns have spent the past few years in a ridiculous competition to outspend each other on one Taj Mahal or another. We have lots to complain about where spending is concerned. A fire truck shouldn't be on that list. FLL, go to Concord and get your teeth fixed. And hope your overtaxed lakefront doesn't catch on fire while you're there. I'd hate to have you complaining about the gas the new fire truck used to go there and put it out.

11-13-2009, 05:28 PM	#16
angela4design Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Meredith Posts: 353 Thanks: 45 Thanked 54 Times in 38 Posts	Priceless $35,000 for repair sounds more plausible; as I disclaimed, I had heard that $100k price tag second hand. I for one, wouldn't want to try driving any of those emergency vehicles. A new vehicle is hard enough to get used to, without the added factors of length, height, etc. I always wondered how they get used to driving a truck which has a seat that's already like 6' higher than the ground! Our firefighters are INDISPENSABLE, and I wouldn't breathe a bad word about them. If my house was on fire, the last thing I would be worrying about is how much the truck cost to put it out. I wouldn't wonder for anyone ELSE's house, either! It's not like it has a hefty price tag because it has flatscreens, DVD players and hot rims... it's a FIRE TRUCK! Everything on it serves a purpose to do a job, to protect our lives and property and the lives and safety of the rescue workers on it. And God Bless Them for Doing it!

11-15-2009, 09:41 AM	#19
scubajay1153 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Gilford Posts: 93 Thanks: 2 Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts	Dreaming? FLL, I have no clue why I am bothering to justify you're post with a reply but I will. Since this time last year I have sat on the committee that planned, spec'd out and traveled not once, but twice to Florida on purchasing and inspections and acceptance missions. Not only that but I have driven this "dream" of a ladder truck twice and set it up a handful of times. It has been out and about the last two weeks as the members get trained and familiarized with the unit prior to being put in service. And for the record it is a 2009 E-One 100 ft ladder tower (no pump or water tank) with front bumper mounted hydraulic rescue tools and numerous other features designed and spec'd by us for our community needs. Unsure of exact figures as we received some grant monies for the unit but I believe it is around $8-900,000 from taxpayers money. Not sure why you feel the need to be snide and condescending nor why I feel the need to reply to you. But this is for the benefit of the others in this forum who are civil.