LAWRENCE: Council OKs bid for new firetruck

Christmas arrived a little early for the Slackwood Fire Co., as Township Council awarded a bid for a new ladder truck to replace the volunteer fire company’s aging snorkel truck Tuesday night.

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Christmas arrived a little early for the Slackwood Fire Co., as Township Council awarded a bid for a new ladder truck to replace the volunteer fire company’s aging snorkel truck Tuesday night.
   Township Council awarded a $1,050,673 bid to Emergency Equipment Sales LLC for the ladder truck. Two other bids were rejected because they did not meet the specifications set out by Lawrence Township.
   Although those two bids were lower, Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun said neither one met the bid specifications, which called for stainless steel to be used for the cab, the body, the doors and the chassis frame rails. The two bidders would have used aluminum.
   Stainless steel is preferable to aluminum because it is more durable, Mr. Krawczun said. Stainless steel is more rust-resistant, which is important. The snorkel truck, which is 21 years old, has rusted in several places.
   One of the two rejected bids offered drum brakes, but the bid specifications called for disc brakes. Over time because of the weight of the fire truck, drum brakes can cause vibrations to be transmitted into the cab of the fire truck, Mr. Krawczun said. They are not as durable as disc brakes.
   Also, one of the bidders included a 300-gallon water tank, while the bid specifications called for a 500-gallon water tank.
   Mr. Krawczun recommended to Township Council that it should award the bid to Emergency Equipment Sales LLC for the Seagrave ladder truck, despite the fact that the other bids were lower — one bid was $849,611 and the other was $940,886.
   Councilman Stephen Brame agreed and said that after reviewing the documentation, “it is clear that the two lowest bidders are not in compliance with the specifications. I agree, let’s reject them.”
   Mr. Krawczun pointed out that the money is available through bonds to pay for the ladder truck. He also noted that “the fire service has agreed to forgo” replacing the next fire truck on the list, which will remain in service until it can no longer be used.
   Slackwood Fire Co. Chief Michael Oakley told the council that the new ladder truck, which will take 9 months to 12 months to build, “is going to be an excellent working piece of equipment” for the next 25 years. He pointed out that Emergency Equipment Sales LLC has a repair facility nearby.
   Snorkel 21, which is the Slackwood Fire Co. fire truck that will be replaced, has been out of service many times for repairs. In 2010, it was taken out of service for repairs 10 times, for a total of 26 days. In 2011, it was taken out of service 16 times, for 137 days. Last year, it was out of service at least six times.
   Snorkel 21 is one of the busiest ladder trucks in Mercer County. In 2010, it was sent out to respond to 249 calls, and in 2011, it was sent out on 258 calls. Last year, it responded to nearly 300 calls. Overall, the Slackwood Fire Co. responds to about 600 to 700 calls every year.