I t’s said never look a gift horse in the mouth, but it’s probably a good idea to check under the hood of a free fire engine.
A fire truck offered to Roosevelt gratis apparently runs, but members of the governing body had differing views about accepting it at the April 25 meeting. No final decision about taking the truck was made at the meeting.
Councilman Ralph Warnick said he went to see the fire engine at the Mercer County FireAcademy in Lawrenceville. The truck has an automatic transmission and runs, but needs new gauges, he said. The equipment has been stripped from the truck, but the borough has equipment on its out-of-service vehicles, he said.
Warnick said the owners plan to scrap the fire truck and want to get rid of it as soon as possible. However, he recommended against accepting the vehicle because at 30 feet long, it is too big to fit in the borough’s garage.
When Councilman Dan Hoffman asked about the status of the borough’s fire company, Councilman Jeff Ellentuck accused him of trying to get rid of the fire company. Hoffman denied the accusation, stating that he never said anything of that nature publicly or privately.
Ellentuck said the borough’s fire company has seven certified members and a fire chief who has held the position for 30 years. He said the borough’s two fire trucks are old and do not work.
“We’ve paid to have the [firefighters] trained, but they have nothing to do,” Ellentuck said.
Ellentuck said there is no financial sense in trying to fix the borough’s fire trucks, because they would have to be upgraded to meet today’s standards, which would cost more than the trucks are worth. He said the borough needs another truck.
“No matter what truck we get, the garage is not big enough,” he said. “It won’t fit any truck made after 1974.”
Ellentuck said if the borough does not accept the free truck, it would have to spend between $30,000 and $80,000 to purchase another one. He said the borough should take the free truck if it functions.
“If we think it will break down in six months, we shouldn’t take it,” he said.
John Rindt, captain of the borough’s FirstAid Squad, is a retired fire department battalion chief who spent 32 years as a firefighter. He currently teaches fire science at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor and at Bucks County Community College in Pennsylvania. He told borough officials about the free fire truck.
“All I wanted to do was find a fire truck to save them money,” he said. “All I did was find it.”
Rindt said if it costs $8,000 to extend the borough’s garage to accommodate the truck, that would be cheaper than buying another one.