Evanston’s City Council will discuss an emergency request Monday to spend $2.3 million to buy a new aerial ladder truck for the Fire Department.
Fire Chief Paul Polep says he learned last week that technicians at MacQueen Emergency Group who were conducting torque box repairs on the city’s reserve ladder truck discovered that it needs more than $300,000 in unexpected additional major repairs, including for cracked structural frame rails.
The reserve truck, a 2006 Pierce Dash ladder truck, was purchased used by the city in 2021 for $165,000.
The city’s last new ladder truck, cost just over $1 million when it was acquired in 2015. It is based at Fire Station 23 on Central Street
Polep says the city’s other frontline ladder truck is 14 years old and is nearing the end of its useful life as a frontline vehicle. It’s based at Fire Station 22 on Madison Avenue.
The chief says the city’s facilities management staff doesn’t believe it makes financial sense to repair the aging reserve truck.
Polep says MacQueen, typically has a four-year backlog to build a new ladder truck, but currently has an “expedited build slot” that could see a new Evanston ladder truck completed in 12 to 14 months.
He also says that the cost of new fire trucks is currently increasing at an estimated rate of 7% per year.
Fire ladder trucks typically have roughly a 20 year replacement cycle.
The city bought two new ladder trucks in quick succession in the early 1990s and for budget smoothing reasons has been trying to shift more toward a once-in-a-decade purchase pattern since then.
Polep says MacQueen is the only regional manufacturer of Pierce ladder trucks that can navigate Evanston’s narrow streets and alleys and clear its low railroad viaducts.
The city has not budgeted funds to make the new fire truck purchase this year.
The fire chief says the city needs two frontline ladder trucks plus a reserve vehicle to be able to serve the community effectively.
The two frontline trucks went on a combined total of 3,130 calls last year.
Looks like we are sending it out when we know its height ability is not really needed.