THOMAS HOWARD |
The Meridian Star, Miss.
(TNS)
The Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors is set to consider the purchase of a new fire truck to provide fire protection for Lauderdale County residents. Fire Coordinator Alan Dover said this truck will go to Alamucha Volunteer Fire Department to replace a 2004 engine currently stationed there.
Dover said he had received two quotes for the truck with one at $652,102 and the other at $497,923. Large discrepancies in bids, such as those for the fire truck at more than $150,000 difference, are seen as red flags by government officials as they can point to missed specifications, problems with the bid documents or other issues. After speaking with each company, however, Dover said one vendor is including anticipated changes to federal regulations for fire trucks, which are expected in the next few years, while the other vendor is not.
Lauderdale County orders its fire trucks custom built, and the makers have 592 days from the time they receive the vehicle’s chassis to complete the work, Dover said. Chassis from two previously ordered trucks made it to the builders in March, he said, so they will be arriving next year.
County Administrator Chris Lafferty said it takes roughly 2.5 years to go from ordering the custom trucks to receiving them. The county could look at purchasing fire trucks without the customization, which would cut the wait time down by more than half at a comparable cost, he said. A truck that costs $489,000 is available for delivery in February 2025, he said, and one that the county could get in June 2025 is just $466,000.
Stock fire trucks are an option, Dover said, but wait time isn’t the only thing taken into consideration. Like the rest of the nation, Lauderdale County’s volunteer firefighter crews are getting older and safety must be taken into account, he said. At the same time, fire trucks are getting larger, both in height and in length.
The custom fire trucks being built for the county have storage for hoses and other equipment on the sides of the vehicle, which is accessible from the ground, he said, while stock trucks typically have the storage on the top. The goal, he said, is to limit the need for firefighters to get on top of the trucks, reducing the likelihood of a fall and any resulting injuries.
Contact Thomas Howard at thoward@themeridianstar.com
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